PS Don't Look For Me
by Stormrifle
Summary: Deema Sheevien has left her Pokemon-less house in search of adventure, and avoiding an arranged marriage. With secrets from her parents past coming back to haunt her, Deema has to find her siblings and warn them, along with help save all of Unova.
1. That Isn't A Carrot

She starred out the early morning such drenched window in the second story of her house in her room. She saw her three older siblings' wave, their backpacks full of supplies, and on their belts, brand new Pokéballs. Each one of her siblings was leaving today to begin their Pokémon journey. Without her. She felt the tide of tears try start flow again, but blinked rapidly to keep them from falling.

It wasn't fair. Not fair at all. She'd turned 15 this year. She should have left on her journey five years ago. To be honest, her older siblings should have left seven years ago, but the point was she was going to have to wait two more years with only her parents at home. She might as well just get shot now. She'd be smothered and kept on a shelf like the porcelain doll her mom thought all her children were.

Speak of the devil, she heard her mother calling for her from down stairs. "Deema! Get down here right now! You're siblings are leaving and you should be down here to see them off."

Deema sighed and shook her head. Crazy over protective old lady. She rubbed at her eyes to make sure the tears were gone and went downstairs.

Trevor, Kane, and Melissa all were waiting, smiles spread wide across their faces in excitement. The triplets were well overdue to start their journey and they couldn't wait. Melody hurried over to Deema as she came out of the house and hug tackled her. "Oh Deema, I'm gonna miss you! I'll call you whenever I get to a town and tell you all about what's happened okay?" She pulled back to grin down at her sister.

"I'll miss you too Melissa, I-"

"Oh what, not gonna miss us then? No love for the big bros?"

Deema laughed as Trevor glomped himself over his sisters. "I'll miss you too of course. Leaving me all alone."

Kane came around the circle of hugging and ruffled Deema's hair. "It won't be too long before you join us kiddo. You know that."

Kane was the one that Deema was closest to. He knew exactly what she was always thinking, and he knew how hard it was to watch them all leave. They also looked the most alike. "I know. Just a couple of years."

"Those years will be done and over with if you guys just keep standing around. Hurry up and say goodbye." Their mother complained.

Deema sighed again. It was going to be a _very_ long two years. Her siblings all crowded around for one final hug and farewell before being off. Deema waved at them until she couldn't see them anymore, and hung her head against the rising sun. "Deema, get over here. These chores aren't going to do themselves. Start in the garden today will you?"

She resigned herself to the inevitably of the horror of the next two years. "Time to get the chores down." She murmured as she trudged over to the garden to begin the weeding and harvesting.

Deema could feel the dirt caking underneath her finger nails with the hot sun beating down on her. She had half a mind to just drop what she was doing and head out to the stream at the other end of town. "Why can't mom just catch some Pokémon that'll keep up with the gardening?" She wiped some sweat off of her forehead with her arm and went to the next row of vegetables. She placed the basket down and knelt down next to the first carrot. A bit of tugging and it was out. A nice big fresh one. Perfect for if she was stuck cooking dinner tonight. The next one, same thing. The third carrot though, it absolutely refused to come out of the ground.

Deema glared angrily at the leaves of the stubborn vegetable. "Now is not the time to mess with me you stupid orange thing that tastes bad. I want to get my chores done so I can relax. Try cooperating."

She grasped the leaves at the base and tugged some more on the vegetable. It stuck firm. She got took her feet, determined to get that carrot now if it meant yanking its leaves off and going straight at the carrot itself. She dug her hands in around the base of the leaves stuck in the ground and pulled for all she was worth.

She succeeded in pulling the plant up and out of the ground, but she also managed to tug hard enough to send herself flying backwards onto the ground. Her head made contact with the ground and she curled up in pain. "Stupid carrot!" She shouted in anger. Of course, drawing herself into a ball led to her smacking herself with the carrot. But what hit her upside the head wasn't a carrot. It was so much heavier than a carrot. It was like smacking herself with a basketball on purpose.

Her head was spinning even with her eyes closed and all she wanted was the pain to stop, but some little angry puffing kept her from trying to block it out. She angrily opened her eyes to face a small little green face with pissed off brown slit-shaped eyes. It was making little huffing noises despite its lack of mouth and swinging back in fourth from where Deema had ahold of the leaves on its head.

For the moment, Deema forgot all about her pain. She just starred at the angry little bulb with eyes that was currently giving her the death glare. "What the hell are you?" There was no response of course, other than it swinging itself harder. Its adorable little face was turning red with anger, and the huffing was more insistent.

"Deema! Are you alright? I heard something crash."

Deema dropped the little unknown Pokémon and jumped to her feet. When the movement caused her head to begin spinning again, she almost fell back down again. "I'm fine! Just tripped." She called, her voice a little unsteady. Her mother came onto their back porch with a dish in her hands, still drying it. "You sure? The crash sounded pretty big."

_Your bi-polarity is showing again mom… _"Yeah, just fine." Deema heard her mom gasp all the way from her spot in the garden. "No you're not! You're bleeding!" Deema touched a hand to the back of her neck. Sure enough there was blood.

Her mother placed her dish on the counter and rushed over. "Oh my gosh, just imagine if you'd tripped and you'd been on the road with your siblings! See this is why I don't want to let you guys go out. You can get seriously injured and no one will be there to help you." Her mother was so caught up worrying over Deema that she accidently kicked the green Pokémon. Deema tried to see if it was all right, or the least where it landed. Little thing was just having a terrible start to the day.

"Mom, I'm fine really. I'll just go into the bathroom and clean it up."

"But if you're bleeding you could have a concussion. Don't try to make it seem like you're fine. Come with me." Her mom grabbed her arm and started for the house. Deema grabbed for the vegetable basket as she was dragged along behind her mom at the last second, with a slight thought for the weight seeming different.

Inside her house's first floor claustrophobic bathroom, Deema was bent over the sink as her mom washed the blood off of the shallow split in her skin at the base of her skull. "Well, the blood is gone. And I suppose it really isn't that bad. I guess you can go back to your chores then. I'll get you some ice though. Stay here." Her mother left the bathroom and gently closed the door. Deema shook her wet hair to get the end droplets off and sat down on the lid of the toilet. She poked at the welt on the back of her head. It throbbed under her fingertip.

"Lovely." She sighed and leaned back against the cool porcelain. Her head throbbed whether she touched it or not so it was nice to relax. While she might be able to do chores, she'd probably ask her dad to take care of finishing up the garden. Speaking of garden, her vegetable basket was on the counter and had some nice and fresh food in it. Perfect time to snack.

She placed her hand blindly in the basket and pulled the first thing her hand came into contact with. And was rewarded with an already familiar angry huffing.

Deema brought her hand to her face with its contents and saw the same Pokémon from the garden doing its angry swinging routine. "You just keep popping up don't you?" It occurred to Deema that swinging in midair by its head leaves couldn't be all that comfortable. She placed the green little guy on her lap. "Better?"

It huffed again, but stopped afterwards. "I'll take that as a ticked off yes."

The green Pokémon did a little circling dance on her lap as it tried to find the most comfortable spot to sit. It was like a small little house pet. "How cute." She murmured. It chose the middle of her lap and plopped down, though all that happened was it got a little shorter. The thing didn't really have legs.

Her mother picked the worst moment to come in. "Here's your ice kiddo." Deema grabbed the Pokémon by its leaves and tucked it under her shirt to hide it.

Ice in hand, her mother tried to come more into the bathroom. "Are you alright?"

"God mom, learn to knock!" Her mother's face flushed red and she back up out of the room. "Sorry! I'll just leave the ice in the kitchen." Her mother left, and Deema's face was as red as her mom's.

"Well that was embarrassing." Having her mom think she'd been going to the bathroom and had been walked in on had kept the Pokémon from being discovered, but it was going to certainly be an awkward dinner tonight. Deema reached up under her shirt and pulled the Pokémon out from under her shirt. When out from under her shirt, the Pokémon was ten shades of angry again at being rough handled and promptly bit her.

"Ow! You don't even have a mouth!" Deema flung the angry Pokémon into the bathtub off of her bitten hand and glared in its general direction. She wanted to yell at it some more, but the thing kind of had a reason to be violent towards her. That didn't make the hurt in her hand go away though.

A knock sounded on the closed bathroom door. "Deema, you okay sweetheart?" Her head snapped up. Uh-oh. Dad. The reason there were no Pokémon in their household. He had had many horrible experiences with Pokémon growing up, and was still pretty scared of them. To make him feel better, Mom had forbidden any Pokémon from being in the house. Part of the reason her children had to wait so long to leave the house.

"Of course daddy!"

"I heard something about a mouth."

"I um- bit my mouth! And was yelling at myself about it."The doorknob began to turn. "Don't come in! I'm about to take a shower."

The doorknob stayed still. "Alright then. Do you want me to finish up the gardening for you then?"

"If you could, I'd love it. I'll cook dinner instead."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be out in the garden then if you need me."

The door was returned to its stationary position and Deema dropped her tensed up shoulders. Today was so hectic it wasn't even funny.

Deema heard scampering in the bottom of the tub and remembered the Pokémon she'd flung in there. She moved towards the shower and saw the green tulip like Pokémon running around in circles inside the bathtub. "Having fun there?" The Pokémon looked up at her and jumped up and down making happy little puffing sounds before going back to running. A droplet of water escaped from the tub's facet. The Pokémon jumped in the air and rushed over to where the drop had fallen down the drain. It starred at where the drop had disappeared down at for a minute before looking up at the facet and jumping at it. Deema leaned over the tub and gently turned the water on. The little Pokémon huffed in delight and preened under the waters cascading flow. Deema finally noticed that the little guy had dirt on most of its body. She moved closer to the head of the tub and carefully picked up the tiny green thing and began to rub at the dirt spots. The Pokémon enjoyed the attention and made little cooing noises, despite its lack of a mouth.

As Deema washed the Pokémon clean, she decided that she was going to keep the little guy. It was just too cute to let go, especially when it was all sweet like it was at that moment. She'd have to be very careful hiding it, she didn't know what would happen if her parents found out about it, but she wasn't curious enough to find out. Something she wanted to know though was what kind of Pokémon her new little companion even was.

Her chores were being done thanks to Dad, dinner was hours away, and her mom wouldn't be stalking her to make sure she was safe since it wouldn't occur to her that Deema would leave while injured. Perfect timing for the start of a new adventure.

It was time to pay good old Professor Juniper a little visit.

Before leaving Deema had rushed up stairs and grabbed a sweatshirt and tugged it on. She'd apologized to the little Pokémon repeatedly as she'd hidden it under the sweatshirt, hoping it wouldn't be too mad and decide to attack her at a bad time. The sweatshirt was for only getting out of the house easily without having to worry too much about her parents seeing her new pal. It worked, then again Deema went out the front door which was at the opposite end of the house from both garden and kitchen.

Immediately when she got to the main road leading to the professor's lab, her house was off a dirt path leading from the road, she took her buddy out from under the already broiling hot sweatshirt. "Sorry pal. I just had to make sure you weren't seen."

The Pokémon didn't seem overly concerned about having been stuffed under the sweatshirt, just happy to be out from under it.

Deema put the green little one on the ground to remove the sweatshirt, then tied it around her waist. She thought about picking the Pokémon back up, but it's good and solid 15 pounds was tiring after a while. She looked down at the Pokémon and shrugged. "The exercise will do you good. Come on, I want to make sure we get to the Professor's lab before she leaves for her afternoon experiments."

The Pokémon was content to walk along side Deema as she headed down the left to the lab.

A slight breeze was finally beginning to pick up as the two walked down the path, making the summer heat more bearably. The Pokémon's leaves rustled in the wind as it hopped alongside Deema. At the end of the road the lab began to loom into sight. Deema felt a smile spread across her face and she broke into a run to get there faster. It'd been a while since she'd been at the lab, she'd been busy helping her siblings pack and get ready for their journey. Having been away from the lab, even for a few weeks had been dreadful, she loved helping out. Between her, Professor Juniper, and the Professor's assistant, Bianca, they were collecting so much data and trading it with other Professor's all around the world. She could guarantee Professor Juniper would know what kind of Pokémon her little buddy was.

The metal door was cool to the touch despite the heat when Deema knocked on it. A small yellow light flashed above the door. "_Yes, who is it?_"

Deema recognized Bianca's bubbly voice even though she was trying to act mature for answering the door. "Hey Bianca, it's Deema. Is the professor in?"

"_Oh, Deema! I've been wondering where you went. Just a sec, I'll let you in. The professor just went outside to check on something, but she said she'd be back in just a minute._" The little light blinked to green and the door slid open.

Inside the lab was refreshingly cool and the familiar humming of all the machinery was welcome. Deema heard Bianca's footsteps coming down the hall before she saw her. Bianca's customary beret was tilted at an angle today, and her hair was slightly mused, but her smile was warm and welcoming and matched her wide open arms. "Deema! We've missed you!"

The 'we' was accentuated when a Samurott and Cinccino ran out of the hall behind Bianca and tackled Deema. Bianca was quick to follow up and join in on the hug pile, though at that point everyone had already fallen to the floor. Deema felt the air rush out of her lungs, but she didn't mind, it was all in good fun, and it seemed an eternity since she had seen her friends. It was wonderful to be back, even if just for a short time. The hug continued with half-worded sentences and noises of joy, until Deema's buddy decided it wanted a different angel to see what was going on. It hopped up onto Deema's head from where it had run away from the huge Pokémon that had rushed at Deema and observed everyone. Bianca stopped mid-sentence/squeal to look at it curiously. "Who's this little fella?"

Deema crossed her eyes and tried to look up at the top of her head. "That would be an excellent question. It's why I'm here, to ask if Professor Juniper knows what it is."

Bianca looked at it closely before climbing off of the hug pile on the floor and shooing her Pokémon off. She held out a hand to help Deema off. "Well, it looks super familiar, but I don't remember exactly all what it's called and the extra details. We'll just have to get the Professor then, she'll know."

Deema accepted the hand up and nodded. "Yep. Good old Professor Juniper."

There was an air-lock gasp as a door on the other end of the building closed. "I hope you're calling a different Professor Juniper old in there."

All heads turned in the direction of the Professor's voice as she came into the room, a huge Bisharp behind her. "Well hey there Deema, long time no see. I take it you're bored after you're siblings leaving you. If you want I have some errands you can run."

Professor Juniper's smile was just as warm as Bianca's had been. Deema was disappointed she wouldn't be able to help out today; she'd have to hurry back to her house to make sure her absence wasn't noticed. "I'd love to Professor, but I can't. I'm really only here for a few minutes to ask a few questions."

Professor Juniper's eyebrows rose. "Ask away Deema."

Insistent huffing came from the Pokémon that Deema had decided to adopt, it clearly didn't like being ignored. It hoped up and down from its spot on Deema's head and spun in small circles every few seconds. Professor Juniper blinked at the Pokémon. "Well I must be getting old if I didn't see you right away little one. And who are you?"

Deema took her buddy off of her head and held it in her arms. "That's why I'm here Professor. I have no idea. But I'd like to know, and that's why I came here. I want to know what kind of Pokémon it is, what it takes to keep it happy and healthy, and the like. I've decided to keep it."

Bianca smiled and started to clap, but then thought about something. "But, Deema, don't your parents not allow Pokémon at your house?"

Deema nodded sadly and rocked her pal in her arms. "Yeah, but I'm gonna hide it." She looked at Bianca. "Come on Bianca, you went on a Pokémon journey, you made friends all over the place and explored Unova. I can't do that just yet thanks to my parents being too over protective. I just want something I should have already had, is it really that bad?"

Professor had an odd look on her face, like she was thinking really hard on something. "Well Deema, I can certainly tell you what your little friend is."

Deema snapped her head to look over at the Professor. "Really? Then tell me!"

The Professor chuckled. "Now don't be too impatient." She walked over and plucked the green Pokémon out of Deema's arms. "This little cutie here is called a Petilil. It's a grass type and likes soil with lots of nutrients and moisture. Which brings me to my next question, even if you're were the one who came here to ask them, where'd you find the little one?"

"I was harvesting some carrots in the garden and when I tried to pull one up, it was actually this guy. It had itself buried in the ground."

"I did say they liked nutrient rich soil."

Deema grinned and stole Petilil back. "So you're a Petilil huh?" Petilil huffed and shivered. "Hmm, if I'm gonna keep you, you need a nickname."

She tried to think of something creative and cute, to fit the Pokémon, but the best she could come up with was this. "How about Lillil?"

Petilil made its happy huffing noises. It was decided then, it was to be called Lillil. Professor Juniper grinned as she turned around and headed over to one of her many work benches. "Well if you two are going to be living together then, Lillil is going to need a Pokéball."

She dug into one of the deeper draws on a particularly large work bench until she came up with four Pokéballs. She hurried back over to Deema and hid her arms behind her back. "Okay. Pick either left or right, and then left or right again."

Deema wasn't sure what the Professor was doing, but it was going to be good, she knew it. "Alright, how about, right, then left."

Professor Juniper brought her arms around in front of her and Deema saw four different Pokéballs, in their contracted forms, in the Professor's hands. She recognized all of them. A regular Pokéball, an ultra ball, a lure ball, and a luxury ball. She'd chosen the luxury ball. "Alright Deema! Great choice." Professor Juniper tucked the three left over balls in her coat pocket. "So, as long as Lillil consents, this will be her new home when it needs to be."

Professor Juniper smiled kindly down at Lillil, who cocked its head to the side, as she tapped the Pokémon on the head with the Pokéball. Three simple shakes and it was caught. Deema looked at the Professor as she was handed the Pokéball. "Professor, how do you know it's a girl?"

"All Petilil's are girls. There's no gender variation for these cuties. Well, now that Lillil has her own Pokéball, you'll probably be needing your own Pokédex." Professor Juniper went to a different work bench.

"But Professor, I can't. You need a Pokédex if you're going on a journey, but I'm not. I'm just staying at home with Lillil."

Professor Juniper laughed as she took a Pokédex off of the desk and grabbed extra Pokéballs. "Where's your sense of adventure Deema? Weren't you complaining earlier about how much you wanted to go on your own Pokémon journey but couldn't? Well now you can. Just give me a few more seconds to get you the stuff you'll need."

Bianca and Deema were shocked. Bianca spoke up first. "Professor… are you telling Deema to run away and go on a journey anyways?"

Professor Juniper grabbed a brown drawstring bag from beside a desk and put everything inside. She also grabbed a brown leather belt, specifically for carrying Pokéballs. She spun around with a grin and held out the bag and belt to Deema. "The Pokédex can tell you what how strong your Pokémon is, what moves it knows, its nature, and what type it is. It can also tell you where Pokémon that you've caught also come from and other details. The belt will just make it easier to access your Pokéballs. Any questions?"

Deema hesitantly took the belt and bag. Her mind was having a hard time processing the fact that Professor was not only telling her to run away and spite her parents, but giving her tools and reasons to do so. She looked up at the Professor's face, trying to find some hidden reasoning. "Why?"

The Professor's jovial smile turned into a softer, more understanding one. "I've known your mother since we were both little Deema. Ophelia means well, but her protective instincts went into overdrive when she met your father. I know she'll be heartbroken with all of her kids gone, but she does still have her husband, and you're a growing young woman, you need to start experiencing things for yourself." Professor Juniper pulled Deema in for a warm hug. "In the end both your parents will understand, and things will work out. Just be careful out there though, it can be rough, just as your parents have warned you."

The Professor let Deema go and wiped a tear out of her eye. "You've been a great help out around the lab kid. I know all the Pokémon here will miss you."

Bianca's eyes were watering as she pulled Deema in for a hug. "Oh, I'll miss you too Deema! You've been so much fun and don't mind when I make mistakes. You'll be a great trainer, I just know it!"

She pulled slightly back from the hug. "Well, now you'd better hurry back home. Your mom and dad will start looking for you soon probably and you don't want to get on a bad note right before you leave. Be careful."

Deema was numb as she nodded, and said some basic goodbyes to Professor Juniper, Bianca, and the rest of the Pokémon there. She hardly even noticed the extra weight of the bag and belt as she left the lab and started running back home. She was in a total state of shock.

Finally, after wanting to for so long and so badly, she had a way to leave. The Professor had given her a Pokémon companion, in a way, so she could leave and strike it out on her own. As she got on the path that lead back to her house, she untied her sweatshirt and pulled it on over everything before heading back all the way home. She saw her dad still in the garden on the last row of squash and waved back at him when he waved at him, not noticing where she'd come from. Deema quietly opened the front door, looked to see if her mom was nearby, then rushed up the stairs to her room and slammed the door shut. She went over to her bed, stripped herself of the sweatshirt, bag, and belt, before collapsing on it.

She could leave. Tomorrow morning when she was supposed to start on her chores, just leave and start her journey. Professor Juniper and Bianca had both assumed she would too, having already let out their heartfelt goodbyes and wishing her luck. She starred blindly at the plaster of her ceiling. They were right too. She would take the chance that had been offered to her and run with it, see where it led her, make her own path, just as she wanted to. How she needed to.

She rolled over to the belt where she'd already put Lillil's Pokéball. She tapped the white middle button and out popped her little green buddy. Lillil stretched out its small body and did a mouth-less version of a yawn. Deema scooted closer to her and patted Lillil's head. "Are we really ready to leave though?"

That was the biggest crux. Yeah, she could do it; it was beyond easy at this point thanks to Professor Juniper. The dilemma was more of a should she, and once she was out there, would she be able to keep going on her own? She might try to convince herself she needed to, but did she really need to? She did already have Lillil, that was more than she'd had in years, in her life time, and it _was_ only two years. She looked at Lillil who had her eyes closed and was enjoying being petted. "What do you think Lillil? Should we go?"

Lillil opened her eyes to blink at Deema, her little brown slitted gaze burrowing into Deema's eyes. What seemed like ages, the Pokémon simply huffed and tried to get Deema to start petting it again. "Well you're a big help. I have no idea what I thought you'd do, but it should have been more than that."

Deema reached over and picked Lillil up and brought it up over her head. "I guess I'll just have to think on it more then. No sense in making a snap decision when I don't need to."

There was a knock on Deema's door a second before it was pushed open. Deema quickly, and as gently as she could, stuffed Lillil under her sweatshirt and sat up on the bed. Her mother stood in the now open doorway. "You okay baby?"

Deema just nodded and tried to smile reassuringly, but it was rather feeble.

"Well, you've been up here a while and I wanted to make sure. Dinner's almost ready by the way, so time to wash up."

Deema's bedroom door went back to being closed and Deema fell back down on her bed. She rolled her head to the side to see Lillil struggling to get out from under the sweatshirt and bag, as Deema had shoved her under the pile in her rush to hide her. Deema pulled her out and was given the death glare. So much for keep Lillil nice and sweet. She was back to huffing angrily and the leaves on her head stood straight up. "Sorry Lillil."

The apology didn't faze the Pokémon; she instead chose to ignore her trainer by hoping off the bed and going over towards the closet. She had at first done so to get away from the meanie trainer, but discovered the closet doors were covered in a mirror and saw herself reflecting back. She jumped in shock before rushing over to get a better look. Lillil was completely fascinated with her reflection and quickly assumed the activity of doing different movements in the mirror to watch her reflection do the same. Deema giggled at how easily Lillil was amused. She assumed it was safe to leave Lillil up here alone while she sped through dinner, just for a little bit.

Deema hoped down off of the last stair and made her way into the kitchen. At the table her parents were already sitting, but without her siblings there, Deema couldn't help but think how empty the table looked. She took her customary spot across from her dad and observed what was for dinner. "Deema, we have something we'd like to discuss with you."

Deema was pulled out of her thoughts about how hungry she was to look at her dad. "What's that Daddy?"

Her father looked worriedly over at his wife, and took her hand. "Well Deema, it's… gosh, I don't know how to say this."

"Can't be that hard, just say it."

He sighed and shook his head. "Alright. Then I will." He took a deep breath and looked Deema straight in the eye. "We're sending you to Hoenn to be married."

Deema felt her eye twitch. "Your sense of humor is messed in the head Dad."

Her mother sighed. "Deema, we are being serious."

Deema's temper and sanity started to fly away from under her watch. "Oh come on. An arranged marriage? In this day and age?"

"Yes young lady, and don't give us any attitude about it."

"I'm 15! I don't want to get married! I don't even know the guy."

"Your father's sister has an important business contact who-"

"'Important business contact'? We aren't fucking business tycoons mom!"

"Watch your damn tongue and sit down!"

Deema had shoved her seat back and was about ready to leave the room. "No. I refuse to sit here while you dictate to me about something asinine and bizarre in which I had absolutely no say in."

She stormed out of the dining room kitchen area and headed back up the stairs. "Get back here right now young lady, or you'll be grounded when you get on the boat next week."

Deema slammed her bedroom door hard against its frame, and if she'd been looking, she would have seen little bits of plaster rain down from the ceiling.

Deema was in complete denial of what had just gone on down at the dinner table. It was impossible. Not even a full twelve hours had passed since her siblings had left to go on their journey, but suddenly she was supposed to go and get married to a complete stranger all the way in Hoenn. For business reasons. Which made absolutely no sense because her parents weren't even involved in any major corporations. Her mother was a pharmacist for Arceus' sake! Her dad was a professional garden too. There should be no need for anything as archaic as an arranged marriage. Especially not when the daughter in question wasn't even close to be of legal age.

Lillil, who had barely noticed that door had been slammed hard enough to bend a few boards, saw Deema's reflection in the mirror and turned to inquire about some food. She stopped though when she saw the outraged expression on Deema's face. Her face was red, but the more noticeable part, was the stream of tears down her trainer's face. She hoped over to Deema and onto her foot to get her attention.

Deema was about to kick whatever stupid thing had managed to get itself onto her foot when she looked down and saw Lillil. Her tiny white face looking up in query of why she was such a mess after being gone for such a short time. Deema felt her begin to dissipate and the fear and sadness begin to take over as she bent down to pick up Lillil. She hugged the warm little body to her, seeking some comfort. Footsteps sounded from the stair case as one of her parents came up. Deema locked the door, thanking Melissa for when they'd shared a room and she had demanded a way to lock anyone out when she wanted to be alone. Deema heard her mother pound on the door. "Open this door right now, we aren't done talking!"

Deema felt a new flood of tears wash over her face and hiccupped. She ignored her mother and went over and sat on her bed to stare out the sunset painted window. Any chance of her staying and waiting the two years to leave had been eradicated from her mind. She felt a cold settle on her as the plan was forced onto her instead of her leaving being a choice. She sniffled and tried to hold back any more tears from falling.

Deema wiped her face clear of the tears that ever so slowly continued to trickle out of her eyes. She pushed down the extra clothes she'd packed in her bag, as well as the blanket, small sleeping bag, extra food, and money she had saved up. Lillil was toying with her Pokéball on the edge of Deema's bed, waiting for either food or when she had to go back in the ball. Deema had decided the best time to leave would be in the middle of the night, when her parents were asleep, and she could better sneak out if she did it right. She'd changed into black clothing, donned her favorite pair of black work boots, and was about ready to go. She just needed a coat before she left her room to grab some food and then she was gone.

Deema moved silently to her closet and starred at her reflection as Lillil had done earlier. Her bright red hair was almost black in the moonlight, but its shortness remained the same. It barley reached the bottom of her neck. Her dark blue eyes would be rimmed with red, and her pale skin blotchy from the tears and crying. She was pretty short, but her boots added about two inches, bringing her to 5'3".

Deema pushed aside the closet door as quietly as she could and reached in to grab her cold weather jacket, just in case, and grabbed her goggles as a last thought and put both on. She moved back to her bed and swung her drawstring back over her shoulder and tied the belt on. Lillil looked up at Deema and huffed. Picking her buddy up, she hugged her closer and hiccupped. "We'll do our best, because that's all we can do." She murmured, before grabbing the luxury ball of the bed and putting Lillil back inside. Placing Lillil's ball on her belt, she tiptoed over to the door and let herself out. She pulled a paper clip out of her pocket as she stepped outside into the hall and fiddled with the doorknob until she got it to lock again. This way, when her parents tried to get to her, it would take them that much longer.

She went with a combination of speed and stealth as she worked her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She took a large paper bag and began shoveling fruit and vegetables into it, as much as she could carry, but not enough to be noticed right away. As she was gathering food, she had a pang of worry course through her. What would her parents think had happened to her? Should she leave them a note?

Deema grabbed a piece of paper off of the kitchen counter and a pen and tried to think of what to write. She couldn't write anything too long, but she didn't want them to think she'd been kidnapped either. She chose the simple way.

_I love you guys. And I'm sorry. _

_P.S. Don't look for me._

She couldn't think of what else to say and left it at that. Within two minutes of writing the brief note, Deema was out the door and running as fast as she could down the dirt path. She kept up the break neck pace when she got to the road and continued on as far she could. Down the main road leading down to the Professor's Lab, down pass it, to the expanse of grasslands on either side of the road, and finally down to a bridge covering an out of the way river. It was there that Deema slowed down to catch her breath.

The cold night air was both a relief and pain as Deema tried to catch her breath, at the least it woke her up more. She turned to look up at the half-moon floating in the sky to her right and gave a faint smile. It was a sort of freedom to do something so defiant, such a thing done solely for herself. She moved the side of the bridge and took a moment to observe the river. Normally the river was just an overly large brook that was fun to play in during the day, but due to some odd and heavy rains, the river was much more full, and the current more violent. She had a brief thought of how it would suck to fall in there.

Her breath caught back, Deema was ready to get going again. She pushed against the old wooden bridge railing, and heard the creak and groan before she felt it collapse and fall, and her fall with it.

Deema fell in head first, with almost no air in her lungs. In the heavy current, it was next to impossible to tell which way was up, which was down, which way would lead to air, or which way would lead to her drowning. Her head briefly popped above the water and she gulped as much air as she possibly could. The current dragged her back under and all Deema could do was try to go with it but keep herself righted.

The water went on and on, dragging Deema along in its wake, until it finally started to subside back into a calm little stream. Unfortunately, by the time it had, between her sprint for freedom and struggle against the current, Deema could do no more than keep her eyes open, and even that was hardly working. Her mind started to fog over, and she couldn't help but think how horrible this way, to try and avoid one horrible fate, just to have an even worse one drag her down. She just wished she had the strength to at the least, save Lillil.

Her head dipped under the deep streams top layer for the last time, just as shadowy figured darted into the water. It grasped Deema around the waste, and used hydro-pump to shoot them back up and out of the water. Deema gasped for water as her lungs recognized the fresh, water free air, and she began to choke and cough. A firm hand patted her on the back. "There there young miss, all better. Good job Simipour. Now reach into my bag and get me a towel. We need to dry her off." Deema, in her half-conscious state, felt the roughness of a towel rub over her skin. She slowly surfaced more, and was grateful to whoever had reached in and saved her. Problem was, whoever it was, was an unknown, and at this point, all unknowns, were a potential risk at being caught.

**Author's Note:** So, if you're reading this, then you've most likely just finished reading my first attempt at any sort of fan-fiction, and I'm hoping people enjoyed reading it, even just the first chapter, as much as I enjoyed writing it. As this is my first fan-fiction, I'm open to any sort of critiques that could help, and interesting ideas, or opinions, or just anything really in the reviews, except flaming, that will be ignored and deleted. So thank you for ready and I hope you'll stick around for the next chapters to come. -Stormrifle.


	2. Do I Look Like a Boy to You?

**Author's Corner:** Well, Chapter 2 is up. Time to answer the reviews.

Blazengirl410: Thank you. I don't know how it's different but it's nice to hear it's good anyways.

Something Dictionary related: Woops! Silly me and my frequent spelling errors. I'd like to change them, but with the site being wonky I can't edit it. Oh well, I'd like to see if anyone else thought her dad was a plant after that XD Maybe the reason he's scared of Pokemon is because they tried to eat him.

Shinymoneky8: My parents would be the kind to think a 10 year old on her own would be funny, too bad, I'd have fun as a trainer. Anyways, thank you for the compliment, I hope you like this next installment as well.

Deema finished coughing up the water that had sunk into her lungs, and the towel she had been dried with was now serving as a blanket to keep the night air from freezing her. She shivered silently, continuing to stare at the ground. The Pokémon that had rescued her from the river danced around to stand in front of her and looked up and under at her face. It lightly tapped her cheek. "Miss, are you alright now?"

Deema gulped and nodded. Her mind was a bit scattered at the moment, the cold still coating her despite the towel. "I'm fine, or I will be."

The man knelt down next to her and tried to get a look at her face to confirm what she was saying. The man's liquid like blue hair seemed to be in mimic of his Simipour's. "Are you certain?" She nodded. "Well, whether fully alright or not, you can't spend the night out here. Do you have a place to stay at?"

Before Deema could say no, he shook his head. "You wouldn't, you're a Pokémon trainer. Why else would your belt have Pokéballs on it?" The man stood up and swung Deema up in his arms. "It's settled then, you'll rest at my house until morning and we can decide more from there. Simipour, go on ahead and tell my brothers we will be having a guest tonight."

The Simipour saluted its trainer and jumped into one of the trees then took off in what Deema assumed was the direction of town. Deema sputtered and tried to think of a way to get the man to put her down. "I-I-I can walk just fine thank you."

The man chuckled. "Nonsense, even if you were a hundred percent back to normal, it would be rude of me to assume so. Until you have been checked out, I will make sure you do not receive any more injury, so just relax young miss. We aren't too far from the city."

Deema felt her eye twitch. She couldn't tell if this guy was for real, or was messed up in the head, or what. Nuvema town had some polite guys, her dad for instance, who would do something nice, like carry your groceries to the car for you or would hold the door open. They wouldn't carry you to their house from the middle of the forest and force you to spend the night at their house until they'd taken you to be checked out. The thought was nice, but when it actually happened to you it just felt like kidnap. And she'd had too many things go wrong in one day to just let this sit.

To take her mind off of being unable to use her legs for the time being, the man despite not looking like much had some serious muscle of him, especially if he was planning on carrying her all the way to who knows where, she tried to figure out some info of his based on what he looked like. If he could figure out she was a Pokémon trainer just like that, she wanted to try it too. What he was wearing though wasn't much to go by. Some black pants, she didn't think they were jeans, and a white button shirt. Aside from copying his Pokémon's hair, which said he liked water Pokémon, there wasn't much to go on. So much for that.

Deema let her head loll back and gazed at the stars. The night sky was a black frame that held the white dots of stars inside. It was calming to look at night. A good night to run away she supposed. If not for falling in the river, the night air would be cool and refreshing after the hot day instead of freezing. Well, she'd known for a while her luck wasn't exactly the greatest. "Falling asleep on me are we?"

Her head snapped back up and made her head spin. It hadn't hurt when she'd fallen into the river, or when she'd gotten out, or any other key time, but now it chose to hurt. "I thought you said you were alright. What happened?"

"It's nothing. I just hit my head earlier and it hurt when I moved my head too quickly."

"Another injury? You are just having a terrible day aren't you?"

"I'd say tell me about it but falling in the river wasn't even the worst part of my day."

The man faltered in his step as he tried to think of what could be worse than almost drowning. He opened his mouth to ask, but his impeccable manners stopped him. No need to pry.

Deema let her head drift again, this time to see the shadows ahead deepen. Her first idea was that it was cave, which was wrong, she hoped. As they got closer and her eyes adjusted to the deepening shadows, she released they'd enter the town. Simipour sprung around from a corner and jumped excitedly. The man nodded and started to fast walk as he followed behind the dancing and hopping Pokémon. The half-full moon barely shed any light, and the tall buildings of the town weren't helping any problems with her sight, but the man carrying seemed to be able to do just fine finding his way.

A light in the window of the large building in front of them came on and then filled the door way as the door was opened. A figure stood in the door for a moment, then came down the steps. Another figure took the first one's spot in the door way, but remained there. The first figure stopped in front of Deema and her carrier and backwards walked in front of them. "Simipour was pretty amped up when he came back. What's wrong?" He seemed oblivious to Deema, just hanging there.

"Nothing serious I believe, but I mostly wanted to make sure the young lady here was alright. I had Simipour fish her out of the river earlier."

The person walking in front of them finally took notice of Deema, and though the lighting still sucked, she could make out his eyes widening. "Woah, where did you come from?"

"She's been here the whole time Chili. Now go tell Cilan to make up the couch, or at least get some tea going."

The man, who was now known as Chili, nodded and turned around to dart up the three stairs and go find Cilan apparently and give him the instructions. Deema was set down when her carrier stepped inside the building, which turned out to be a café. Tables were everywhere, covered in white table clothes and the stairs stacked on top of them for the night. What kind of guys live in a café?

Her question was soon answered when the man who'd remained inside came to find them. Cilan presumably, had green hair with a tuft coming up on the top and towards the front of his head. He had green eyes to match. What gave away the answer to her question though, was the identical clothing to the man carrying her. The same black pants, slacks she saw, and white button shirt. They were all waiters from the looks of, probably the owners as well. "Chili decided he wanted to do both. So who's the young lady to be our guest?"

Deema looked between the two men, and while their hair colors were totally different, she'd learned that meant nothing. It did in her family (mom had purple hair, two kids had purple hair, dad had red hair, two kids had red hair), but not anywhere else. Their faces though had similar shapes, as did their eyes. She supposed they could be siblings. The man with blue hair looked at her instead of answering his brother. "I don't believe I ever asked your name."

"Well, between fishing me out of the river and carrying me all the way here while trying to not to drop me, not too many thoughts were left over for things like names. I still don't know yours."

"I was not struggling to carry you here."

Cilan and Deema looked at him. A classic case of the male ego striking again. The man with blue hair coughed and looked away. "I mean, I suppose you're right." He looked back at her with a polite smile. "My name is Cress."

He held his hand out for a hand shake. She hesitantly put her hand in his. "I'm Deema."

Just as she hoped against, he kissed her hand in the gentlemanly old fashioned way. A true gentleman through and through. She didn't know if she should feel bad for having thought him a creeper or to still think him one anyways. Cress raised his head back up and nodded. "And this young fellow is my youngest brother Cilan."

Cilan shot Cress a look, but held out his hand and gave Deema a normal handshake, which was a relief. Cilan spoke up as to what the next brother was doing. "Chili is still upstairs where the tea is being made and your bed is for when we all go to bed. He wanted to do it all himself."

"His way of trying to make up for noticing her at first. He'll be down momentarily."

His statement was punctured with overhead footsteps that went over them, possibly down a stairwell, and then stopped at the door to their left that presumably led to their living quarters. Chili opened his door and poked his head around it. "Tea's ready." He said breathlessly before running back up the stairs.

Cress held out an arm and let Deema go first. Cilan followed behind, and Cress after him. The stairs were a beautiful old cherry wood that looked freshly polished and spun in a gentle circle to be directly above the café. The ceiling was high and disappeared into the dark, but had lights hanging from it and giving it an old fashioned look. It fit what she'd seen of the brothers' personality. The stairwell ended at an archway to opened up into a spacious living room. All cream colored carpeting, a lovely and delicate but large chandelier, and many cream leather couches with more cherry wood woodwork, it looked like some that an old Victorian couple would have, not three brothers. To the left, a half-wall broke off the living room to start into the kitchen. Deema stood in awe of, just because she'd never seen a place so elegant before. Cilan tapped her shoulder as she continued to stand a few feet in front of the arch way.

"The kitchen's this way ma'am."

Deema started to take a step forward when she looked down and caught sight of her shoes and pants. While mostly dry, the bottoms of her pants where dragging on the ground with excess water, and her shoes still squelched with water. She started to spaz at the thought of ruining the carpet because of her waterlogged shoes.

Cress turned to see why she wasn't following them into the kitchen. "Is something wrong miss Deema?"

She nodded trying not to hop from foot to foot to keep her feet off the carpet, but would manage to make it even worse. "My shoes are still soaked! I can't walk on the carpet. I'd ruin it."

Cress chuckled. "Oh don't worry about it. These carpets have seen worse days."

Deema shook her head. "I could carry you again if you'd prefer."

That got the reaction he'd expected. Deema's eyes widened, not that again. She instead she sat on the ground, after dropping the towel first, sat down, and began the process of tugging off her boots. The shoes at first were winning the fight, thanks to the help of the socks, but soon the socks became the down fall and both boots were off. Deema wiggled her white and prune-y looking toes then stood up and followed after the brothers who had moved into the kitchen.

The kitchen had an immense cooking area, with industrial sized appliances. The front left stove burner was just being turned off by Chili as he removed the kettle with the tea. Cress and Cilan sat down at the small in caparison table and set out cups and saucers. Cilan motioned with his head for Deema to take a seat and she did so, placing her lightly dripping bag next to her seat or the stone tiled floor. The tea cups were dainty little things, white porcelain with hand-painted blue flowers. She didn't want to pick it up for fear of breaking it, but couldn't resist when Chili poured the aromatic tea in front of her. It smelled like cardamom, and when she tasted it, her thought was confirmed. It was like the tea her dad usually had, but richer, with hints of cinnamon and clove. Cress placed a sugar cup in the center of the table and Deema added a spoonful to her tea. "I'm glad to see you like the tea. Most people find it a bit strong when I brew it."

Deema placed her cup down as gently as she could and smiled at Chili. "No, it's great. Thanks for making it."

Chili smiled back at her. "You are very welcome miss Deema."

The four enjoyed their tea, Deema even pouring herself a second cup full. Cress was the one to finally break the silence. "So miss Deema, what was it that you were doing that landed you in the river like that?"

Deema choked around her tea and struggled to keep from spitting any out. When her air way was clear again, she tried to think of what exactly she should tell them all. The three brothers all waited politely for her to answer. "I was on a walk… and I stopped to take a break on a bridge. I leaned against the railing, which was pretty old, and it broke. I fell in, and washed down until you found me."

Cilan seemed the most shocked. "That's horrible!"

Chili nodded in agreement. "But I don't know of any bridges near here. Where exactly did you start from on your walk?" Cress questioned.

"Er, I started back from Nuvema town."

All three brothers seemed to get a bit paler. "But that's two towns away." "That must have been horrifying coming all the way up here from the river." "No wonder you were drowning."

The brothers kept this up, hyping each other up until Deema thought they would burst with worry. "It's okay guys, I'm fine now. That's the big important part right?"

The brothers all made a visible effort to calm down. "What were you doing out there Cress? It's the middle of the night."

Cress made a show of waving his arms like a story teller. "The night was too lovely of an opportunity not to be outside and train with my Simipour."

As if cued by its named being called, Simipour came out of the hall leading out of the kitchen, followed by Pokémon of similar statue, but done in red and green. The Pokémon jumped off the ground and went to their respective trainer, looking eerily similar. Deema's had unconsciously went to her own belt and felt Lillil's Pokéball. She was relieved when she looked down and saw her hand resting on the black Pokéball. Despite the current being strong enough to drag her past a town and to another one in its wake, it hadn't managed to snag away Lillil's Pokéball. Deema looked back up at the brothers who looked at her expectantly. Cocking her head to the side, she tried to think of what they were waiting for. Cress answered her unspoken thought. "So who is your partner Pokémon?"

"Oh," She reached down and snagged the black Pokéball off of her belt. "Her name's Lillil." She said, pressing the white release button.

Lillil presented herself in the middle of the table with a cute little huff and jump. She took in her surroundings and her eyes widened at the sight of so many people and Pokémon all at once. She backed up until she hit Deema's tea cup then spun around to see what she'd hit. She glared at the tea cup for getting in her way and looked up and saw Deema. She did a happy little warble and ran around the cup to tackle Deema. Deema was startled by the sudden affection, but caught the little cutie in a hug. Lillil tried to burrow into Deema's shirt to get away from so many people, until it caught the scent of the tea. It lost interest in hiding and started poking around for where the smell was coming from. She jumped out of Deema's arms and landed back on the table.

Locating the cup she had thought spiteful things about before, she jumped up and tried to put her face inside the cup to get at the tea. The cup tipped over and out spilled the fourth of tea that had been inside the cup. The tea splashed onto the table and Lillil huffed happily as she began lightly tasting it with her base as she soaked it up. Deema stood up and tried to contain the mess somehow, or at the least get Lillil out of it. Chili came to the rescue however, with a towel he pulled out from under the table and began to wipe the tea up. "Damn it Lillil. Did you have to try and make the biggest mess possible?"

Cilan laughed and scooted out from his seat to get a bowl from the cupboards. "She is a grass type after all. Grass Pokémon tend to love sweet things as it's similar to nectar. She has great taste though, as any grass would."

Cress took the bowl from Cilan when he got within range and filled it up with some tea for Lillil. Lillil currently was squirming in Deema's arms in an attempt to reach the disappearing tea, so she didn't notice when the wide serving bowl was placed down on the table for her. Deema saw the bowl though and let Lillil hang over it. The Pokémon stopped her struggle and looked down to see what the delicious smell was. She immediately began struggling again; she wanted that tea very badly. Deema tried to lower her gently to see if the tea was too hot for Lillil, but with the way Lillil was flailing, tea droplets were flung all over the table, so Deema just let the Pokémon down into the bowl. Lillil airlessly sigh and did her version of sitting in the aromatic tea. Deema looked up apologetically at the brothers. "I'm sorry about that."

"Oh don't worry about it Deema. It's cute to see someone so enthusiastic about my tea." Chuckled Chili.

Lillil huffed and laid face down in the tea. Which set of laughter from everyone at the table, though Deema's was closer to exasperation. The three monkey Pokémon joined in the laughter and jumped up and down in excitement. "How long have you had your Petilil?"

Deema smiled at the little green Pokémon currently rolling around in the dusky red liquid. "Not even a day. I got her this morning."

Cilan and Cress were impressed. "Wow. That new of a Pokémon huh?"

Deema nodded. "And it's already so friendly. The power of a luxury ball I suppose."

Deema again nodded then placed her head on her hands which were being propped up by her elbows resting on the table. "I pulled her out of the ground when I was supposed to have been picking carrots. That's how I got my first injury of the day. I tried to pull her out, thinking she was a carrot, and pulled so hard that I sent my sent flying backwards and split my head open."

Cress shook his head. "You've had a seriously rough day haven't you? And you mentioned that wasn't even the worst part?" He felt bad for prying and tried to take it back but Deema beat him to it.

"Yeah, though physically the river part was the worst. The day was kind of a slosh of bad from physical stuff mixed with emotional stuff." She sighed. She was tired and the long day was dragging her down from lack of sleep. "My three siblings left to start their Pokémon journey this morning and I was supposed to have to wait another two years before I could start mine. I found Lillil though, and decided to keep her even though Pokémon aren't allowed in my house. Professor Juniper then gave me everything I needed to go on a journey of my own anyways, then I went back home and found out I was supposed to get married to some guy I don't know in Hoenn. So I ran away like the Professor told me to and the fell in the river."

Her sleep needing mind's haze cleared as she realized what all she'd just revealed. "And I can't believe I just said that all to random strangers. She picked up Lillil out of the tea bowl, now half-empty, and turned to leave the kitchen. "Good night, thanks for everything."

She left the stunned brothers behind at the kitchen table and headed back into the living room then picked the longest couch and laid herself out on it. Lillil did her mouth-less yawn as Deema laid down on the couch and snuggled up in her trainer's arms. Both were quickly under the spell of sleep on the comfy couch in a dreamless sleep.

She heard the crackling of fire before she even opened her eyes. Deema slowly cracked her eyes open, but shut them again against the early morning sunshine. She wondered what time it was, and why mom hadn't woken her up to get a move on her chores. Lillil was still snuggled up against Deema's chest, enjoying the warmth her trainer generated. The Pokémon was brought out of her dream when Deema started to move and threw off the blanket that was starting to make her sweat. With her eyes still closed, Deema held Lillil to her chest as she rolled herself off the side of what she figured was her bed and stood up ready to take an early morning wake up shower. It was odd what she forgot of the day before, such as not being at home, but remembered others, like having Lillil. Deema moved expertly around the couch with her eyes still closed and made her way towards the hall. Lillil snuggled back against her as she tried to go back to sleep. That didn't work out too well when the mostly still asleep pair crashed into a wall.

A wall made of flesh and that had arms. The arms of the wall reached out and kept Deema from falling. Deema finally forced her sleep bleary eyes open and tried to get them to focus. As they did so, Deema made out that it wasn't a wall. It was a person, wearing something mostly black but had white sleeves, and red hair. In her sleep garbled voice, "Kane?"

The person holding her up shook his head. "Um, no miss Deema, that's not me. Are you alright?"

Deema's eyes snapped into focus. Yep, definitely not her brother. Chili stood in front of her looking concerned. She shook herself to try and wake up more. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm fine. Just not a morning person."

Chili nodded and gave a weak smile. "Would you like any breakfast?"

"No, I'm good for now."

"The bathroom is currently open if you'd like to take a shower."

Deema smiled. "That sounds amazing right about now."

Chili's smile became more natural and grew a tad. "Okay, I'll go grab some fresh towels then."

Chili turned around and went back down the hall in search of towels. As Deema had crashed into Chili right next to the kitchen, out of the corner of her, she saw her bag still slumped against a chair. She moved to pick it up and sighed. Everything in there was probably soaked all the way through and would have to be laid out to dry. She felt around inside her bag and was proven right; there was even water at the top just floating on top of everything. She went over to the sink and dumped out the river water. Chili came back as she was shaking her bag out. He cleared his throat to get her attention. Deema looked over at him. "The bathroom is down the hall, first door on the right."

She smiled her thanks, swung her bag over her shoulder then took the towels from him. "Thanks Chili. A shower is something I could really use right about now."

She moved around him and followed his instructions to the bathroom. Inside the bathroom, after closing and locking the door, she dropped her bag to the ground and peeled off her jacket. Stupid thing was a pain to get off; it was like it had fused to her skin due to being on her while it dried. Lillil was having the hardest time finding a spot to lie down on, between Deema moving her from shoulder to shoulder as she stripped. Lillil finally had had enough and angrily huffed and jumped off of Deema's shoulder and onto the counter. The cold counter was a shock to her tiny feet, but it was sturdy and wouldn't be moving any time soon. She plopped down, then collapsed onto her back. The only thing keeping her from falling back peacefully asleep was Deema's shirt falling on top of her.

Deema fell in love with the giant bathtub that was built into the floor. It was huge, covered in white marble and had jets inside it. She eagerly hopped inside of it and turned on the water as hot as she could stand.

A bath was just so much more relaxing than any old shower. Deema felt like a whole new person after being cleaned from the river's sludge and whatever else had been on her. Lillil had enjoyed the steaming hot bath too, though her reason was because the steam had fogged over the mirror and she enjoyed rubbing her face in it. Deema towel dried herself off and wrapped the largest towel around herself and a medium sized one around her hair. She looked down at her dirty clothes and dreaded putting them back on. A knock on the door saved her from doing that. "Miss Deema, if you don't feel like putting your dirty clothes back on, I have a uniform you can borrow until you wash them."

Deema liked that idea a lot. She had to take a guess though at which one of the brothers was behind the door. "Thanks Cilan, that sounds great."

"Alright. Um, er, I'm opening the door."

The door knob slowly turned and cracked just barely enough for Cilan to slid the pants and shirt inside. Deema took them out of his hand from behind the door. "Thanks again."

There was a mumbled your welcome as Cilan hurriedly shut the door. Deema grinned at the nervousness of the green-haired brother and shook her head. What, did he think she was parading around naked in a house of three guys?

The pants were a bit long for her, so she rolled them up and under, but they fit her around the hips which mattered a lot more. She glanced at her bra on the counter and shrugged, she was fairly flat and the vest that went with the shirt would hide the fact that she wasn't wearing one. She had to roll the sleeves up on the shirt, but all in all, the uniform didn't fit half bad. Deema choose to stuff her dirty clothes in her bag and worry about them later. The belt the carried her Pokéballs went in there too, as did Lillil when Deema stuck her back inside her Pokéball.

The air outside of the steam warmed bathroom was cold, but it helped wake her up. She looked around to try and find one of the brothers, but saw no one. There were no voices either. Well, it was a café, they were all probably downstairs getting to work. Deema found her boots next to the archway, still on the towel, along with her socks. She picked them both up and hid them in her bag. They were still wet, she'd have to find a way to dry them quickly. Deema moved carefully down the stairs and stopped about ready to open the door. Until that is, when she heard the collective worried voices of the three brothers' right outside the door. Her old habits from when her siblings would try to hide things from her sprang back into action.

"We should really try to contact her parents. They could be really worried."

"They might not have even noticed she's left yet. We could try sneaking her back over there so she doesn't get into trouble."

"That's two towns away. Not likely to happen. I'm just worried about what Deema will do if we did manage to get ahold of her parents. From what she said last night, in her opinion, she has a pretty good reason to have run away."

"That's something she should work out with her parents though."

"I say we leave it alone until after lunch. It's almost noon, we need to open the café, and I personally would love some coffee right about now."

The other two brothers. "Agreed."

Deema stayed behind the door. Well, she'd known she couldn't stay here long, but now she had to leave even sooner. Trying to turn her back over to her parents. She was grateful for all they had done, but trying to send her back wasn't earning them points in her favor. Deema waited behind the door for a few more minutes, letting them get into their routine before she opened the door. Despite their earlier subject, they all had warm smiles to greet her with. Or maybe it was because of the topic. She smiled back at all of them. "Morning guys. Thanks for letting me use your bathroom to get clean."

Cress spoke from behind the register. "It was no problem at all miss Deema. We are happy to help."

Cilan spoke next as he lowered the chairs from the table. "I agree. I'm glad to see the uniform fits well by the way."

"I don't think I can thank you guys enough to be honest. Between rescuing me from the river, feeding and clothing me-"

"Don't mention it. Hey, if you want to dry your stuff, I'm guessing most of it is still wet, you could probably head over to the Pokémon center. They'll probably have enough washers that you can get your stuff dried in bulk."

"Thanks Chili. Where is it though?"

Cress leaned over the counter and pointed out the door. "Go out the door, turn to your left, and about two blocks down. It's really hard to miss. Huge 'P' on it and has a bright red roof."

Deema nodded her thanks and headed out into the Striaton City sun.

Following Cress' directions was simple, and she soon found herself stepping through the automated doors of the Pokémon center. A few trainers milled about, it was too early still for the masses to need to be around the lobby. Deema walked up to the front desk that was currently empty and looked around for someone. Eventually a pink head popped up from behind the desk with a triumphant grin. "Fixed that darn cable issue finally." The woman looked forward instead of being in her own world and saw Deema. "Oh hello there. Can I help you?"

"Yeah, um, could I possibly use your dryers? Most of my stuff is wet and needs to be dried."

"Well certainly. Go up the stairs and to the right, the wash room should be completely free right about now."

"Thanks." Deema chirped and headed off to dry out her stuff.

It took four times of drying to just get her sleeping back all dried out, let alone all of her other clothes. She'd used three dryers at once and managed to get everything back into usable condition. She'd washed her clothes too, and was ready to change back. She wasn't exactly sure where to change though in the Pokémon center and shrugged it off. It wouldn't be too much trouble to change back at the café.

Deema exited the Pokémon center and began walking back to the café. People were walking around and about, talking, laughing, enjoy the fresh spring day. It was a change from the small town of Nuvema, more urban, but Deema enjoyed it. It would be nice to stay here a bit longer, but with the brothers debating to turn her back over to her parents, that idea was shot down. Deema was so happy and oblivious slowly walking down the cobblestone streets that she didn't even notice the police officers until they had stopped right in front of her. "Excuse us, but could you answer a few questions for us?"

Deema was shocked out of her daydreaming and blinked nervously at the policemen. "Um…sure. Go for it."

"Have you seen any suspicious activity as of late?"

"What kind of suspicious activity?"

"A teenage girl was reported missing this morning, by the name of Deema Sheevien. Have you seen her?"

Deema stared at them. "No… I don't think I have."

"Are you sure? No one around town has seemed to be hiding something? No one out of the ordinary caught your eye?"

"No sir."

The first policeman sighed and rubbed the back of his neck and turned to his partner. "This place is too far from Nuvema. I told the captain she wouldn't be near here, but does he listen to anyone else? Of course not."

The second policeman sighed as they turned away and began to leave. As an afterthought the first policeman called over his shoulder, "Thank you for your assistance young man."

Deema stood there in shock, only to regain her composure once the policemen were out of hearing range. "Do I look like a boy to you!" She screamed shrilly.

"I don't think you do."

Deema was startled out of her rage and turned to see a boy not much older than her siblings with a black and white baseball cap and a long green pony-tail. She blinked at the guy. "The policemen are probably just stressed out looking for the girl."

Deema thought about that. The main irony of the situation was that they were the girl they were looking for. "Sure… I guess so."

The boy with the green hair circled around her, observing her closely. "Are you a trainer?"

Though the question was spoken out loud, Deema got the feeling he was more or less just talking to himself. He came to a complete circle around her. "I don't see any Pokéballs on you."

"That's cause I only have one and it's in my bag."

He blinked at her. "Oh." He stayed silent for a moment. "Can I see?"

She saw no reason not to, and swung her bag off her shoulder and reached in for Lillil's ball. She popped it open and Lillil landed gracefully on the ground. She looked up at the towering person before her and huffed in question. The green haired person bent down to get a better look at her. "So how do you like your trainer little one?" He asked her.

Lillil huffed and jumped up and down, then at the end spun in a circle. The man looked up at Deema, who had a slightly confused look on her face. "She says you're good, but you pulled her hair…" He looked as confused as she felt about that statement.

Deema looked down at Lillil. "You have hair?" She was completely oblivious to the fact that the man had just spoken to her Pokémon and understood it.

Lillil craned her small, nonexistent, neck backwards to glare at Deema and rustle its leaves. "Oh! You mean I yanked on your leaves. I'm sorry about that bud."

Lillil became placated with that apology and spun around and started rubbing herself on Deema's leg. Deema bent down and picked up the green cutie. "Well, there you have it. I'm a horrible trainer who yanks the hair of her Pokémon." She said meaning it to be a joke.

The man on the other hand took her too seriously. "But that wasn't the only thing she said you did. You threw her into a white basin and stuffed her under things that were too warm and felt funny and wouldn't let her drink the sweet stuff that was on the table."

Deema's attention snapped to the person in front of her. "How do you know all that?"

"I asked her about you and she answered. She says despite all that, you keep her warm, and you did eventually let her have the sweet stuff that was like nectar but wasn't and carry her around. She says she forgives you for being mean at times."

Deema looked down at the Pokémon snuggling against her. "Glad to hear it Lillil. Though I don't really think some of that stuff was my fault."

The man looked at the green Pokémon. "She's says she's hungry by the way."

Deema sighed. "Of course she is. Alright, we'll head back to the café and see if Chili will whip you up some before we leave."

The man cocked his head. "You are going to the café?"

Deema nodded. "I will join you in your walk to there, if you don't mind."

She shrugged. "It's fine."

At the front step of the café the man stopped and turned his head towards the mostly empty street like he was listening to something. Deema waited for him, unsure of what he was doing. When he did look back at her, he bowed apologetically and took a step back. "Something has come up. I have to go now."

With that he turned and began to run down the street. Deema didn't know what to think of that, and chose to not worry about it, and instead walked back into the café. The café was now alive with live, Chili at the far corner taking a tables order, Cress ringing up a group of customers, and Cilan coming out of the door that lead upstairs with platters of hot food. Deema stepped aside to let the giggling group of girls from the register out, even held the door open for them. A few of the girls looked up at her, blushed and giggled even more as they went on their way. The wind blew into the café and Deema caught a whisper of what one of the girls said. "The new guy is pretty cute."

Deema sighed and dropped her shoulders. She looked at Cress was moved out from around the counter. Cress stood in front of her and smiled welcomingly. "I take it all of your stuff is now dry?"

"Yeah, it is. I can give you back your uniform now."

"Oh there's no rush miss Deema."

"For me there is. Twice now I've been mistaken for a guy. I need to change. Can I go back upstairs really fast?"

Cress was shocked that people would mistake her for a man and simply nodded. She gave a two finger salute and headed upstairs to change.

Deema hurried back down the stairs in what she had been wearing last night, sans the jacket. It was tucked safely back inside her bag, with Lillil on top of it. Lillil hadn't wanted to go back into her Pokéball to sleep, and had opted to stay inside Deema's back with all the comfy clothes. Deema had been worried about Lillil getting squished, but Lillil had expertly buried herself comfortably inside. Deema couldn't tell if she'd forgotten about the tea though and went to ask Chili about if she could make some more just in case. Cilan caught up to her first. "Hello miss Deema."

"Hey Cilan."

"Would you and Lillil care for any more tea?"

"Actually, Lillil would love some, thanks for asking."

"Alright. I was just about to make some before the Gym battle began."

Deema grabbed his arm and pulled his back as he walked around her. "What Gym battle?"

"A challenger arrived just a little bit ago while you were changing."

"What's that have to do with the café?"

He laughed and looked her in the eye. "Don't tell me you didn't know this was a Gym too. Cress, Chili, and I are all Gym leaders."

Deema sat on the balcony with Chili and Cilan and Lillil, all drinking tea, waiting for the battle to begin. Cress was down on the battle field, awaiting the challenger to come through the door. Deema was excited. She'd kind of noticed that the building was too big just to be a café and a house, but hadn't thought too much about it. Now that she saw the Gym in all of its glory, she couldn't wait for the battle to begin.

The moment they had been waiting for, the challenger stepped forth through the door.

A new trainer, only two Pokémon to her name, and from a town not too far from here, Chili had said. Deema couldn't have carried too much about the details, she just couldn't wait to see her first Gym battle. The challenger came out of the surrounding white light of the café and took her spot on the opposing strand. From far away, Deema couldn't make out too many details of the challenger. She saw long wavy purple hair, and a pink dress, that was about it. It wasn't until she heard the challenger speak that she realized who the challenger was. "Tepig, go!"

Deema jumped out of her chair and almost knocked over her tea cup. "Melissa!"


	3. Back Off Ninja, My IceCream

**Author's Corner: **Another quick update, and probably the last one until some time very late in the week as my spring break has ended. So, enjoy this one, and I'll try to get as much work done on this as I can. Thanks for the 100+ hits and keep on reading.

The challenger didn't hear Deema's shout of surprise. She tossed her wavy purple hair over her should and giggled. "You'd better be ready for a battle, because I know I certainly am."

Cress smiled and bowed before Melissa. "You'd best be prepared, for this will surely be a battle to delight the senses."

Cress sent out his first Pokémon, a Herdier. It growled at Tepig and scraped its paws against the ground.

Tepig snorted in return, small embers shooting from its nose. Cilan stood up from his spot at the table and called out in a loud voice, "Let the Gym battle begin!"

Melissa took a battle stance and pointed at Herdier. "Tepig, use Tackle now!"

Cress chuckled. "Such an obvious opening move. Herdier, dodge it, then use your own Tackle."

Tepig rushed fourth, aiming to hit Herdier head on, but after Cress' command, the Herdier dodged around the charging Tepig. Tepig couldn't stop itself in time and slammed head first into a rock. Because of its hard head, no damage was done. But when the Herdier swiftly turned around use its own Tackle, the Tepig was blasted through the rock and into another one. The Tepig took a moment to get up.

"Come on Tepig, you can't be done after one hit!"

Chili shook his head. "That was a critical hit. Cress got lucky. From what I can tell, if that Tepig lands a hit, Herdier won't be able to take too many hits. He's going to have to be real careful about getting close enough to hit."

Cress took advantage of the challenger's momentary worry over her Pokémon. "Herdier, use Take Down." Herdier reared its front paws and ran through the whole in the rock that Tepig had made, and slammed its whole body in the Tepig. Tepig squealed in pain, and a second rock was broken. Herdier sustained some damage though, and its breathing took on a heavier tone. The Tepig got back on its foot, albeit a bit wobbly, and glared at the Herdier. "Tepig, use Ember!"

Tepig took a deep breath in and shot flames out at Herdier. Herdier, having been so close, had no time to dodge and took the Ember attack full on. Herdier was pushed back from the shock of the flame, and turned its head to cough out black smoke. "Keep it up Tepig, use Ember again!"

Tepig squealed and shot more fire at the dog Pokémon. Herdier stood its ground, waiting for an order from its trainer. "Herdier, use Take Down again."

Herdier charged through the flames and nailed Tepig's body against a rock. Tepig was on its last leg, but Herdier wasn't doing too much better.

"It's going to be a close battle," Cilan murmured. "And this is just the first round."

"Tepig, use Flame Charge!" "Herdier, use Take Down!"

The two Pokémon met in a clash of bodies, and the flame from Tepig's Flame Charge threw up a cloud of smoke and dust and hid the aftermath of the hyped up attacks. Cilan and Chili stood up and tried to see through the cloud of dust to see which Pokémon was still standing. If either of them were.

Melissa hoped from one foot to the other as she waited to see if her Tepig was okay. Cress looked worried too, and moved his head, hoping to get a better view. The smoke and dust eventually clear, and revealed that neither Pokémon was standing. Both were collapsed in fatigue on the rock floor.

Cilan called from the balcony. "Both Pokémon are unable to continue battle. The first round is a draw."

Melissa gritted her teeth and grabbed Tepig's Pokéball. "Tepig, return."

Cress smiled sadly. "You battled well Herdier, good job. Now return."

Cilan again, "Challanger and Gym leader, please pick your next Pokémon."

Cress held up his hand towards the balcony. "Simipour, your turn to battle."

Simipour swung down from the balcony where it had been hiding on the ledge along with Simisear and Simisage. "All right then, Pidove, show them what you've got!"

Simipour swung down onto the battle field and did some mock punches and smirked at the Pidove that flew out of the Pokéball and ruffled its feathers. "Final round, begin!"

"Pidove, use gust!"

"Simipour, use Water Gun to counter it."

Pidove launched itself into the air and flapped its wings, sending down Gust at Simipour. Simipour aimed its tail at the oncoming wind attack and shot out a powerful stream of water and stopped it in it tracks."Pidove, get closer to Simipour and use Gust on it again."

"Simipour, stand there."

Simipour glanced back at its trainer, who just nodded. Simipour nodded and braced itself for the incoming impact of the gust attack. Pidove was five yards from Simipour when it slowed itself down and sent another Gust whirling at the water monkey. "Simipour, shoot down that bird with Scald!"

The Simipour happily obliged and sent boiling hot water straight towards the still descending Pidove. The hot water cut through the winds and with Pidove still getting closer, it had no time to even try and dodge. It was hit full in the face and was sent plummeting to the ground. Pidove hit the ground and rolled off and hit a rock. The poor Pokémon struggled to get back up. Deema shot up from her seat and cupped her hands over her mouth. "Come on Melissa, you can win this!"

Melissa's head turned to see who had called out her name, but Deema had already ducked down and slapped her hands over her mouth. Melissa shook it off, but was glad for the boost in confidence. "It's gonna be okay Pidove. Just get up."

The Pidove struggled to its feet, but when it was firmly back on the ground, it shot Simipour a defiant glare. "Pidove, use Quick Attack."

Pidove shot forward in an unseen flash and hit Simipour head on. "Great job! Do it again."

Pidove obliged and kept up the onslaught of Quick Attacks, coming at Simipour from all different directions. Cress gritted his teeth and finally shouted out, "Simipour, use furry swipes!"

"Pidove, just make sure you keep hitting Simipour from behind, he won't be able to get you!"

Melissa's Pidove dodged around Simipour's out reaching claws and repeatedly crashed into the blue Pokémon, slowly but surely decreasing its health. When Melissa saw that Pidove was slowly getting too tired to continue with using Quick Attack, she switched moves. "Okay Pidove, we're going in for the big moves now. Use Air Cutter."

Pidove flapped its damaged wings and sent a powerful burst of air at its opponent while sending itself higher into the air. Simipour was forced down to its knees and tried to shield its face from the painful wind. "Another one Pidove!"

"Simipour, use scald again, Pidove can't take too much more of this battle."

Simipour and Pidove both shot their attacks at the opponent at the same time with fierce determination to be the victor. They put everything they had in to one final attack.

Deema watched in awe, wondering who would be the victor. She hoped it wasn't another draw, but whoever did win would have to be proud. It looked to be an intense battle.

The impact from the attacks knocked both Pokémon back. Pidove tried to right itself, but couldn't and fell back down onto a rock; while Simipour was knocked into a boulder had enough to crack it. Cilan looked closely at each Pokémon to see which one would be left standing. Simipour dropped the a knee, then the other, before collapsing to the ground. "Simipour is unable to battle. The challenger and her Pidove are the winners."

Deema heard her sister squeal in delight and cheer. "Alright, way to go Pidove, you did it!"

Deema poked her head over the railing and saw Melissa run onto the battle field and pick up her hobbling Pidove. Deema couldn't help it, she whistled at Melissa and clapped. Melissa snapped her head in time to see Deema just as Deema realized what she was doing and was about to dive to the floor. Melissa however, was unaware of the sitatuion. "Deema! Oh goodie! I didn't know Mama and Papa would let you come out to watch me battle. Though I'm surprised they knew I was already in Striaton City… Oh well, I'm just glad you got to watch me battle little sis!"

Deema just meekly nodded at her sister and tried to come up with something explain why she was here in the first place.

Melissa sat down at a table pet her Pidove absentmindedly as it fed on some special food prepared by Cilan. Deema sat across from her rather stiffly still trying to figure out what to say. "So… um… how'd you get to Striaton City so fast?"

Melissa giggled. "That's easy silly Deema. I didn't sleep at all. When I left the house I just kept going. I'd been stocking up on potions for months now with the extra money I'd get just for this. I want to make sure I beat those silly boys. So now my Pokémon are super strong compared to everything else. Well, except, that Gym leader guy, but he's a Gym leader, he doesn't count. So yeah, nether me or Tepig have gotten a whole lot of sleep, which is kind of why I'm rambling, oh and I caught Pidove. Pidove is a great one. A total cutie, aren't you sweetheart?" Melissa nuzzled the nose of her bird Pokémon affectionately.

Deema laughed. Yeah, Melissa was definitely running on only about an hours' worth of sleep she might have caught while waiting for Cress to get ready for the battle. It was now close to five, and the café was coming to a close. The café was never open for very long, which kept its female customers always alert and eager to step inside. Cilan was cleaning up a table, and Chili was at the door saying goodbye to a group of regular customers. Cress though, had no work he needed to do and made his way around the sea of tables towards where Deema and her sister were sitting.

Melissa's head sank lower and lower towards the table as she started to drift to sleep. A hang on her shoulder jolted her back awake. "Hello ladies. Can I assume you are enjoying your snacks?"

Melissa nodded and Pidove cooed. "Thanks Cress. Melissa really needed some food after pulling her all nighter."

Cress chuckled and pulled a chair from one of the neighboring tables and sat in between the siblings. "I would bet so. It is amazing what you accomplished all in twenty four hours miss Melissa."

Melissa blushed, giggled, and twirled a piece of her long purple bangs around her finger. "You're such the gentleman Cress. It's no wonder all those girls show up at your café every day."

Deema eyed her sister. You're such the flirt Melissa. She chuckled with exasperation then put an elbow on the table and rested her cheek on the palm. Cress took it as a sign that something was wrong. "Oh, miss Deema. You said earlier you didn't want anything but perhaps you've changed your mind?" Deema looked over at Cress. "Oh, no. I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"I can't imagine why. It's not like anything interesting has happened to you lately." Chili joked as he pulled up a chair next to Deema.

Deema nodded, her expression agreeing with his sarcasm. "Oh, definitely. Just woke up in my own bed and totally didn't have anything dangerous happen to me."

Chili and Deema grinned at each other and burst out laughing. Cress chuckled as well.

Melissa's head began to droop again. "Chili's hot like fire and Cress is cool like water."

Cilan popped up from behind Melissa. "So what does that make me?"

Melissa waved her hand. "Cilan's lively like fresh grass." That was the last thing before her head gently dropped down to the table and she fell asleep.

"She always has been a beauty queen. They must call it beauty sleep for a reason."

The brothers all chuckled at that. Deema took out Lillil's Pokéball and rolled it back and forth on the table. She wasn't quite sure exactly what she was supposed to tell Melissa. She was liking the idea of just leaving when Melissa wasn't looking and heading on to the next town. Now would be the perfect time with Melissa being asleep. But that would just make her sister worry, and after having her parents already worried enough to send the police after her within hours after them knowing she was gone, she just didn't feel up to it. Cress coughed to get Deema's attention. "So what do you think you should tell her."

Deema sighed and let her arm fall and rested her head on it. "I'll probably wind up telling her the truth. She wouldn't be the one to get mad at me and try to send me back."

The brothers expressions took on guilty tints. "That'd be Kane. Probably. I don't know what he'd think."

"Isn't Kane who you thought I was this morning?"

"Yeah. That's my oldest brother. He has red hair just like you. Kane, Trevor, and Melissa are all triplets, Kane being the oldest, and Melissa the youngest." She glanced up at the brothers. "You guys are triplets too right?"

They nodded. "Yeah, thought so. The way Cilan acted when you mentioned he was the youngest Cress told me that. Melissa hates being referred to as the youngest. Insists that because they are triplets, that they are all the same age, regardless of the time they were actually born."

"Sounds like Cilan would come up with."

Chili and Cress laughed while Cilan just eyed his brothers, thinking of some way to get back at them later. Deema smiled without looking up and continued to roll the Pokéball on the table.

"So are you guys really going to turn me back over to my parents?"

All of the brothers went still and glanced among each other. "Well Deema," Cress started. "We haven't actually decided on what exactly we should do. We thought in the end, that the choice, should really be yours."

"Seeing as how you found it necessary in the first place to run away, we may not be doing you any favors by sending you back." Continued Cilan.

"So you decide, do you want to go back, or would you like us to say we have no idea who you are to anyone who asks?"

Deema looked at the table and thought about it. If it was a choice, going back, it was a bit different, but if she did go back, the exact same thing she'd run away from would be waiting for her. She shook her head, well, more rolled it as it was still on her arm. "Not going back. Not to just get sent off to some place I don't know. At least if I stay away like this, it'll be on my terms."

She raised her head and slapped her hands on the table. "On that note, I need to get a few things, such as a map, and probably some food to drag along with me. If I'm going to stay out on the road I'm going to do it right." She got up from the table and picked up her bag. "I'll be back to say goodbye, but I'm leaving tonight. Two police officers came up to me and asked if they had seen Deema Sheevien. While I may have thrown them off, jerks thought I was a boy, sooner or later they're going to come back, and I'm going to hedge my bets. Thanks for the help."

Cress snagged her arm as she walked by. "Don't think you're getting away that easily miss Deema. We have all the things you could possibly need here. Stick around for a while, wait for your sister, eat something. You have time."

She looked down at Cress. His smile was friendly enough, but he had some little trick up his sleeve. Did she want to find out about that magic card or not? "Not really."

"Of course you do. You just need to make it. So sit back down and Chili or Cilan will make you and your sister some dinner. You can both spend the night here if you want, none of us mind."

His brothers nodded, Cilan getting up to go get started on some dinner. Cress looked like he wanted to say more, but the phone on the cashiers' counter ringing stopped him. He held up a finger asking for one minute and went to go answer it. He looked at caller I.D. before answering, becoming wary when he saw who it was. He kept his voice muted and turned around to face the wall. Chili tried to think of who would get that reaction out of Cress, and there were few possibilities, none good. He turned to watch Deema who reluctantly sat back down. "Would you let someone who'd you'd rescued out of a river just wander off without making sure they were completely back to normal?"

Deema thought about it. "No. I'd probably try to keep them in one spot or follow them for a while to make sure nothing else bad would happen to them."

"Well, Cress is super protective to begin with. He'd probably follow you around if he could so you could get farther away, but as a Gym leader, he can't really do that. Besides, one more night won't hurt. You get great food and can spend time with your sister. Is that really so bad?"

Deema shook her head. "No, it's not. It's getting too late to leave anyways. Last night was enough of the whole sneaking out in the middle of the night experience for me."

Chili didn't doubt that. He looked at the door leading upstairs and wondered what was taking Cilan so long. He excused himself from the table and went to go find out.

Deema was left with her sister, who was still passed out on the table, and Pidove. Who had finished its snack and hopped over to observe Deema. It cocked its head as it looked at her. It didn't know what to make of her, but it closed its eyes in ecstasy when she rubbed the side of its face and scratched the back of its head. Her mind was lagging from lack of sleep and she drifted into a sort of unconscious state, her mind blank, just petting Pidove.

It was Cilan's hand on her shoulder that shook her out of her state. "Miss Deema, dinner is ready. Might it be best if we woke up miss Melissa as well?"

Deema breathed in and nodded while stretching. Cilan tapped Melissa on the shoulder, then gently shook her. Melissa woke up with a jolt and her head shot up, but she calmed down when she saw it was just Cilan and smiled as he lead her upstairs. Deema followed behind them, trying to keep herself from falling back into sleeps arms.

The dinner Cilan and Chili had prepared was amazingly delicious and the dessert Cress had wiped up was just as wonderful. After dinner, Melissa was about ready to crash again and so Deema let her have the guest room that had originally been setup for her. Deema took the couch again, despite the offer of one of the boys' beds. She wasn't about to kick them out of their own rooms, and the couch was big enough to serve as a bed anyways.

As Deema laid down on the couch for the second time, she thought of the phone call Cress had answered earlier. He had seemed a bit worried when he came upstairs finally to join the rest of them for dinner, and the entire time during dinner his mind had been somewhere else. Not a good sign. She hoped it wasn't the police. That could be really bad. If they'd finally realized that she wasn't a boy, and instead was the girl they were looking for, Cress and the others could get in a lot of trouble. She hoped it wasn't that, and rolled over and went to sleep.

Something was watching Deema when she woke up. She could feel it. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but she knew something was. Possibly multiple somethings. She felt a breath of her face. Deema's eyes snapped open and she was face to face with Simipour hanging over her upside down. It squealed when it saw her wake up, and scurried away with Simisage and Simisear. Deema sat up and watched them scurry down the hall. The midmorning sun was high and bright shining in through the window, partially blocked by a building across the street. She threw off another mysterious blanket and swung her legs off the couch. Her bag was right next the leg of the couch closest to her. She reached in and grabbed Lillil's ball, figuring now would be a great time to feed her. Lillil thought so too when she popped out of her Pokéball, ignoring Deema and rushing immediately to the sweet smell of the tea in the kitchen. Chili was in there brewing a fresh pot, just for Lillil. Pidove, Tepig, and Melissa were already at the table, eating their breakfast. Melissa briefly but excitedly wave to her sister when she saw her, then patted the seat next to her before giving her attention back to her French toast. Deema sat down next to her sister as directed and found a plate of her own French toast in front of her. Drenched in thick blackberry syrup. Her absolute favorite. She looked up at Chili who winked at her and went back to making Lillil's breakfast.

Lillil jumped on the counter and continued to hop while waiting for her tea to be ready. She was a morning Pokémon and she insisted each morning be started right. A bowl of the yummy nectar that wasn't nectar was perfect for that. She happily dipped her bottom half in the bowl when Chili offered it to her and let him carry her to the table to sit on the table in front of Deema. Melissa stopped eating for a second and looked at Lillil. "Well aren't you just a-freaking-dorible. Who's Pokémon are you little cutie?"

Lillil looked at her and huffed. Melissa giggled. "I didn't quite understand that, but oh well."

Lillil huffed again. Melissa looked at her sister. "Not like she can understand me anyways, or me her."

Lillil glared at Deema and huffed in exasperation. Deema chuckled and hid her face behind her tea cup. "Oh, I'm pretty sure she can understand you Melissa."

Melissa gave her sister a look and took a bite of her French toast. After swallowing, she spoke again. "I still don't know who its trainer is though. I wanna know where they got one so I can try to catch one. It's precious to no end."

Deema looked away and caught Chili's eye. He shrugged. Deema sighed and looked back down at the table. "She's my Pokémon."

Melissa snorted then took a sip of her tea. "Cute kid. Because Mama and Papa totally let you have one right? Mmmm, this tea is like the stuff Papa has. Anyways, seriously, who's is it? Probably Cilan's since he likes grass types so much."

Cilan popped out from around the corner, a piece of crumpled up paper in his hand. "Nope, it's not my Pokémon. It really is your sister's."

Melissa looked at her sister confused. "But… we aren't allowed to have Pokémon until we leave."

Deema patted Lillil's head. "Well, as I'm not here because Mom and Daddy let me, it doesn't really matter what they allow and what they don't. If I was here on their terms I would have had to go back last night wouldn't I?"

Melissa's eyes widened. "Just how are you here then."

Deema launched into the tale of her day at the point after all her siblings had left, describing the important things, and watched the expressions dance over her sister's face. When her recount was over, awe was painted on Melissa's face. "OMG, you just get all the fun things happening to you don't you? Gosh, this is like the time when we were little and you went one way to hide, I went the other, you got lost, were found by an old couple that fed you tea and cookies and let you play with their Flygon while I got lost and twisted my ankle. You are lucky person, you notice that Deema?"

Deema looked at her sister oddly. "You call almost drowning in a river good luck?"

"Pft, no. But having Cress there be at just the perfect time to save you was. God, being rescued by three hawt Gym leaders, I am NOT kidding when I tell you you have some serious luck."

Melissa had conveniently forgotten that two of said 'hawt' brothers were in the room. Cilan and Chili blushed. Cilan shook his head and nudged Chili. He un-crumpled the piece of paper in his hand and showed it to Chili.

Melissa went on babbling to Deema about what she had seen on her way here, distracting the girls from the actions of the two brothers. Cress showed up a few minutes later, out of breath, and rested a hand on his knee and his other on the ball on the top of the half wall. His quickly caught everyone's attention. "Deema, you're going to want to get your stuff ready very quickly. Someone tipped off the police about you and they're on their way here."

Deema and Melissa both stood up from the table. Melissa worriedly chewed on her knuckle. "Oh, but I was hoping to travel with you sis."

"Can't it looks like. Shit, how am I going to get out of here?"

The shattering of glass brought an answer. "Am I too late? Did they catch her already?"

An unknown voice came from the living room. Cress turned his head slightly to talk to whoever was in there. "I'd be making you replace my window if you were Iris. But she's here still here."

"Perfect. Where is she?"

There was a thump as someone landed and around the corner came a dark skinned girl was giant dark purple hair. "Well come on then," she motioned with her hand and arm. "You don't have all day."

Deema looked at her sister and briefly hugged her. Melissa hugged her tightly back. "This is just until the cops get off your trail and we can travel together."

Deema nodded then darted after the girl named Iris. A huge dragon Pokémon with red tusks angling against each side of its head and olive colored armor stood on top of a pile of shattered glass and a partially destroyed couch. "This is Haxorus. Just be careful where you put your foot. Oh, and you might want to put your Petilil back in its ball."

Deema eyed the dragon Pokémon but put Lillil safely away as it hopped out of the kitchen. She accepted Iris' help up onto the back of Haxorus and gripped the Pokémon's back as tightly as she could.

"Here we go!" Iris shouted as Haxorus spun around and launched itself out the glass-less window.

It landed with a heavy thud onto the ground in front of the crowd that had begun to form when it had originally jumped in through the window and roared. A few people screamed, most just tried to dodge out of the way as it turned to the left and began running at a break neck pace. A group of Policemen stood in the way right in front of the Pokémon Center, complete with cars and bullhorns. Haxorus snarled and vaulted over the Police force and kept on running. There were shouts of confusion and anger from the police and Deema saw a few cops get in their cars getting ready to pursue them.

The wind snapped and bit at the skin on her arms and stung her eyes. Deema carefully pulled her goggles out of her bag and snapped them on. Iris giggled. "Fun huh?"

Deema laughed breathlessly. Haxorus kept running as fast as it could, over bushes, rocks, people occasionally, and even trees as it sped along the road leading away from Striaton City. "Iris, where are we even going?" Deema called over the voice stealing wind.

"Castelia city. Nacrene city is too small to hide you in. It's going to be a while, even on Haxorus. Hope you're not too uncomfortable."

Deema wondered how long that exactly was. She settled farther down on the dragon's back and tried to make herself more comfortable. The dirt road they had been running on for a while now disappeared and underneath them it turned to a concrete as old storage buildings turned art shops came into view. The people in this town seemed more relaxed, as they just looked at the speeding Haxorus and smiled and waved. A museum was coming up, with a scientist and a tough looking woman were exiting. Iris perked up and waved at them. "Hi Lenora, hi Hawes." She called as they sped on by.

Lenora smiled and wave while Hawes laughed. Haxorus quickly was passed the small town and was running towards a dense looking forest. "That was Lenora. She's a Gym leader too, specializing in normal types."

Deema nodded and filed that information away for later. It might come in handy when and if she came back to do an actual Pokémon journey that featured getting some badges.

Haxorus vaulted over another tree and slid on the dirt as it turned sharply. It rushed through the forest, swinging its head left and right, observing those who stayed hidden in the trees. The forest ended and Iris' Haxorus dashed through a terminal separating the forest from the bridge and continued on past the shocked gate keeper and television blaring the latest news. It kept on going across the large bridge that spanned over the sea and connected the two pieces of land. Haxorus rushed on through the crowds that seemed to gather just to get in Haxorus' way over the under bridge for cars.

When finally in Castelia City, Deema was sore all over from the rough ride. Iris nimbly hopped off her Pokémon and stretched. "Good ol' Castelia City. Well, this is where I stop. I have some things I need to take care of before I take you anywhere else, but my Granddad recommended a café with some icecream on the east side of town. I'll take you to it, but then I gotta go kid. Gym leader business and all." She turned around to look at Deema who still hadn't gotten off of Haxorus. "Well are you coming or not? Not like I have all day you know."

Deema un-gracefully slid of Haxorus' armored back and landed on her right foot. She turned to face Iris. "Well, thanks for the ride. Definitely made for a good get away."

"Well of course it did. Nobody beats my Haxorus in speed. Anyways, later. I'll meet you at the café later on. Come on Haxorus, let's ride!" She shouted the last part as she nimbly jumped on to Haxorus' back again and sped off.

Deema watched as it jumped over a herd of clerks coming out of an office building and heard Iris laughing as most of the clerks screamed. She craned her head to get a look at the immense skyscrapers and shrugged. Iris had said west side of town, and figured she might as well start looking for the café. As huge as this place was, it could be a while.

She chose the closet path between the giant metal giants and headed down it. People teamed up and down the wide open pathway, rushing to and from work, back home, a few just wandering aimlessly. Deema tried her best to avoid bumping into people, but with the masses lurking everywhere, it was a bit difficult and she did hit a few people as she moved down the pathway.

She glanced left and right, looking for some signs of this café Iris had mentioned. She eventually saw a blue and white striped overhang with a huge line leading outside of it. Just a guess, that was it. Deema dodged around a group of giggling girls whose arms were linked and got at the back of the enormous line. She heard people exciting over the apparently phenomenal ice-cream here and how they hoped it didn't run out before they could get any for themselves. Deema hoped so too, wanted to taste this amazing ice-cream. The line crept forward and finally Deema was at the front of the line. "One cone please."

"Sure thing. And lucky you, you got the last one of the day."

Deema smiled and gladly exchanged her money for the ice-cream. She took a seat by the window towards the back and looked side. Still so many people. She turned her attention back to her ice-cream and tasted it. Everyone had been. This thing was heavenly! She licked at it some more, reveling in the delicacy that was this ice-cream. She could see why people would wait in line for so long just to get one. She was so lost in eating her treat she didn't notice when someone sat in the seat in front of her. Her eyes eventually registered the change in coloring and she looked up. A man with short snow-white hair and a black blindfold on sat before her. "Ghetis will be please to know I found you so quickly."


	4. Ew, I Got Sand In My Pants

**Author's Corner: **Okay, finally a new update. Sorry about the wait, I like to post quickly, but my week was super busy. Anyways, here you go, new chapter, hope you like it. Oh, and to answer reviews.

Blazengirl410 and ShinyMonkey8: Thank you both for continually reading, and anyone else who's sticking around for that matter. I really appreciate it.

Y-Ko: I'm gonna be honest with you; I originally did use the whole arranged marriage idea as a cop out, I couldn't think of anything to be honest, that would send her away horrified of her parents. But trust me, if you don't oh well, I have something planned for that and reasonings and all that, and if you stick around I hope you won't be disappointed.

Deema tilted her head to the side. "Are you a ninja or something?"

The blindfolded character was caught off guard by her lack of response. He hesitated before answering. "That is not relevant."

"Well it's not like I know exactly what you mean by 'Ghetsis will be pleased I found you so quickly', as I have no idea who Ghetsis is, so I honestly don't care. Now, really, are you a ninja?"

Deema wasn't grasping the severity of the situation. "I said if I am or not is not relevant."

"No, you said 'that is not relevant'."

"They are essentially the same thing."

"Essentially, but not keep up with your story buddy or you'll get tripped up."

"I wasn't telling a story."

"But you were starting one."

Even with the blindfold on, Deema could see the man across from her was getting irritated it. He had this attitude most people would mistake for void, but she saw the faintest hint of arrogance, that with nothing else to cloak it, screamed to her, and having grown up with two older brothers, she knew just what buttons to hit and which knobs to turn, and couldn't resist.

"So finish your story sir Ninja. I am _deeply_ fascinated."

"Do not be facetious, girl. Just cooperate and things will not be too difficult."

"Oooooo, are we getting into threats now? Oh my day is just being so interesting. Melissa is right, I got some kind of luck alright. So, continue, I am actually fascinated now."

"Do not dictate to me. I only take orders from Ghetsis."

"Who was dictating? Buddy, you really need to relax." Deema partially stood up from her seat and called to the woman behind the counter. "Excuse me, ma'm? Are you sure there's no way to squeeze one more cone out of the machine?"

The cash register girl looked around. "I might be able to make one more…"

Deema left the ignored and stunned ninja back at the table. "Please try, my friend could really use one."

"Well… Alright." Deema once again traded her money for ice-cream and handed the angry ninja his ice-cream and resumed licking her own. "Maybe now your mood will improve grouchy ninja boy."

Ninja person stared at his ice-cream like he thought it might jump and attack him. "Eat your ice-cream, see how amazing it is, then tell me about this 'Ghetsis' person."

The man titled his head in a way that said he'd be glaring but ate the ice-cream. His glare immediately died in the face of such heavenly creamy goodness. He had eaten half of his before he seemed to remember he wasn't alone. He coughed and turned his head to face hers square on. Deema waited for him to begin.

"Ghetsis is a man of great power. He has desire of much power, and in some ways is mad, but that is neither here nor there. You are to come with me and my other two brothers who are waiting outside to Ghetsis and he will arrange for your return to certain people who are eagerly awaiting your retrieval in exchange for allies when he goes back to work."

The more Ninja said Ghetsis' name, the more it started to sound more and more familiar, until she finally placed it. "Isn't Ghetsis that whack job who built that giant castle around the Pokémon league and tried to free all Pokémon from their trainers except for those apart of Team Plasma?"

The ninja hesitantly nodded. Any amount of friendliness she had died. She pointed to the door. "Get out."

"What?"

"I said get out. Ghetsis is a disgusting control freak who needs to be put down like the mad dog he is. I want you gone. You're lucky I don't steal that ice-cream from you and stab the cone down your throat for even mentioning him."

His demeanor that had slowly been warming up vanished. "You pretend you have a choice in the matter of coming with me."

Deema stood up from the table. "You are really getting on my nerves."

As she walked back him he snatched her wrist. "Do not presume you can get away."

She snarled down at him. "And don't you presume you can do anything to me."

When she tried to twist out of his grasp, he jumped out of his chair and dodged behind her, her wrist still in his hand and slapped the other over her mouth. "Your arrogance will just make your trip to Ghetsis' lair all the more painful for you."

Deema started to kick and tried to scream, but it came out horribly muted and her kicks did next to no damage to the man kidnapping her. He moved her towards the door and pushed the both way swinging door open with his back. Deema looked around on the street which was now disturbingly empty, and continued to struggle. She'd like to see what kind of luck Melissa would call this. Deema put all the force she could into smashing her head back into the ninja's face and thankful got him to loosen his grip enough. She spun out of his grip over her mouth, and with her free hand, smashed a fist into his already injured nose. She was distracted though when she heard a voice call out to her. "Deema, what's going on over there?"

Deema turned her head over her shoulder to try and see how close Iris was. Unfortunately, that left her open and distracted and the ninja gave a punch of his own. Deema heard and felt her neck crack and turned slowly to look at him. "Bitch, I have two older brothers, do you honestly think I have no idea how to fight?"

Deema rushed forward, her head bent down, and slammed into the man's sternum full force. It knocked him breathless, making it easier for Deema to use his grip on her wrist against him by flipping it over her head and snapping him into the building of the ice-cream café. He slumped against the wall and for good measure Deema kicked him in the chest again, pulling her arms into her chest and thrusting her leg into him. Iris finally got in close enough range to be of some help. "Jeeze Deema, I leave you alone for half an hour and you go and get into trouble. You are such a kid."

Deema shot her a glare. "Don't call me a kid, not in the mood. Do you know this loser?"

She titled her head a bit and leaned in to get a closer look. "He looks like he might be one of the creeps from the Shadow Triad. Not too many people go around wearing blindfolds."

"What's the Shadow Triad?"

"A bunch of creeps who work for Ghetsis."

"Ew."

"Yeah, that's an understatement. Oh well. Time to get going. I'm not liking this whole lack of people."

Deema nodded in agreement and turned around with Iris. To face two more guys with snow white hair, black ninja uniforms, and blindfolds. "Found the other two." Iris said.

The one on the right spoke up. "That was rude hurting our brother like that."

Other one, "We'll just have to make sure you two don't try something like that again."

Ninja number two lunged at Deema and tackled her into the waiting arms of Ninja One who had woken up. Iris made the mistake of turning her head to watch Deema and was grabbed and yanked away from Deema by Ninja Three. Deema was sandwiched between the two of them and Ninja Two began to tie a rope around her to keep her limbs in place. Ninja One took off her bag and stole her belt with her Pokéballs on it. She tried to wiggle her way out of the harsh grip the ninja had on her as he tied her up to get her stuff back. Ninja One humorlessly laughed at her. "I warned you didn't I?"

He started playing with Lillil's black Pokéball. "Oh, and what do we have here? A Pokéball? Does it perhaps contain a Pokémon?"

Deema snarled at the man. "You stop touching Lillil's Pokéball right now you deranged creep!"

The ninja shook his head. "Such rude words. I suppose another lesson is to be taught."

Ninja One dropped the Pokéball to the ground and raised his foot above it. "Say goodbye and farewell."

As he slammed his foot down, it first touched the white part of the ball that released the Pokémon inside and Lillil was launched at his face. He fell backwards from both shock and the force with which Lillil had been shot. His head made a heavy crack when it touched the ground, but it saved Lillil from falling too hard. She pushed her body off of his face and angrily huffed at the man who had the nerve to be so rude as to not catch her and have treats ready. She reared up and launched a whirlwind of green powder at the man. He tried to brush the powder off, but quickly found his limbs numbing and his mind blanking. Within seconds he was asleep. She stomped on his face with as much force as she could manage for good measure and hopped off of him. Ninja Two and Three stared at the green little Pokémon and quickly changed plans. Ninja Three threw Iris backwards and went with his still standing brother to try and capture Lillil.

Lillil watched from her spot on the ground on the far side of the first ninja's body and watched the two giants rushing at her. One disappeared and re-appeared behind her while the other continued to charge her from the front. Deema had tripped and fallen to the ground because of how her legs were tied and watched as Lillil was about to get trampled over. She tried to think of a move the tiny grass Pokémon would know. "Lillil, try and use Magical Leaf!"

Lillil used something alright. She hopped in a circle and glared at the closest ninja. Little orbs of yellow light sprung out from his body and rushed into Lillil. Deema watched disturbed as she visibly saw strength seep from the ninja and him age. She continued this until the other ninja was almost on top of her and began to drain him. Her first victim collapsed to the ground beside his brother, his breathing labored and lines crinkling over his flesh. The last standing ninja tried to move down to catch her, but his strength waned quickly and he too fell to the ground. Lillil looked around her at her three victims and huffed in a gleeful way, hyped up on their energy and hopped on over to Deema where she sat rather horrified. Iris wasn't doing too much better and stayed as far away from Lillil as she could. Lillil didn't notice, or didn't care, about the look on her trainer's face and snuggled up lovingly against her. Deema looked at Iris for some idea of what to do. Iris shrugged. "What move did you even use, Lillil?"

A voice spoke up from the middle of the street from Deema's bag. "Mega Drain: A nutrient-absorbing move."

Well, that was one question answered. Lillil continued to snuggle next to Deema and started a continual huff similar to humming. Iris eventually worked up some courage and got up to inch closer to Deema and untie her, trying to avoid provoking Lillil's wrath. When she was close enough she untied Deema's ropes and helped her back up. Deema thanked her then felt some tugging on her pant leg. Lillil looked up at her with adoration in her eyes and begged to be picked up. She was almost scared to after seeing Lillil unafraid to attack a human, but figured she wouldn't look so loving if she was about to drain her. She picked up her Pokémon and gently stroked her leaves. Lillil cooed and snuggled closer into Deema's chest. "Well… she saved us. Don't know if that's a good thing in the long run but there's not much else we can do I guess."

Iris nodded in agreement and started to head back down the street. "Let's go back to the Pokémon Center. There should be people there and we can plan where to go next since this place isn't exactly the best place to stay."

Deema most certainly agreed and went over to pick up her bag from the grasp of the first fallen ninja. She and Lillil glared at their bodies, before Deema ran back over to Iris as they headed over to the Castelia City Pokémon Center.

Deema put her feet up on one of the many coffee tables dotting the floor of the Pokémon Center's lobby and relaxed into her comfortable over stuff chair. Iris was sitting on a couch across from her petting a baby Axew that she'd let out and was feeding an apple to. They were trying to relax and let themselves, their pulses at least, calm down before they tried to think of anything such as what to do. Deema was content to pet Lillil for the time being, not too worried that she would suddenly turn on her anymore, and kind of over the whole draining the Shadow Triad. They were creepers and had tried to kidnap her. They deserved some kind of punishment. She regretted buying the first ninja an ice-cream. "Well, we're going to have to leave soon. Despite Lillil sucking out part of those guys' life energy or whatever, they won't stay down for long."

"Where should we go then?"

Iris shrugged. "We might need an even bigger town, which means going to Nimbasa City. Its population is almost twice the one of this city, and I have some friends who can give you a place to sleep while I run some more errands."

Deema nodded. "That's sounds fine to me." Not that she could think of anything better anyways.

There was static as the intercom woke up and starting broadcasting Nurse Joy's voice. "Deema Sheevien, there's a call for you at the telephone. Deema Sheevien, a call for you."

Deema and Iris looked at each other confused. No one should know where she was. Did that mean it was the Shadow Triad trying to pull a fast one? Well, only a few ways to find out, and she opted for the quickest and easiest one. Deema got off the seat and headed over to the other side of the lobby and picked up one of the phones. The screen in front sprang to life and Professor Juniper and Bianca were smiling at her. "Professor!"

"Hiya Deema, good to see I caught you before you left to go to Nimbasa. Listen, stay just about half an hour to an hour more and Cheren will have something for you, that way I can keep in touch and not have to guess which Pokémon Center you're at."

"But how did you even know I was at the Castelia City Center?"

"I didn't, I've tried calling all towns from Accumula up to here. Glad I caught you, and really at the perfect time huh?"

"Oh Deema, guess what? We saw you on T.V.! You were being chased by a bunch of policeman and running away on a Haxorus, how cool!"

Iris bumped into view of the camera. "Hey Bianca, hey Professor, glad to be able to help her out."

Professor Juniper laughed. "Oh, no, thank you. That was quick thinking on both of our parts I'd say." Professor Juniper leaned in and gave Deema a conspiratorial glance. "By the way, your parents' are _livid._ They've had cops in and out of here continually since about seven o'clock this morning. It is insane what strings they're pulling to have you found. I had no idea Ophelia had gathered so many contacts over the years. It's absolutely amazing!"

Deema agreed and didn't. It was cool and all, sure, if you weren't the one being hunted down. She really had to wonder how her parents had been hiding all this stuff from their kids. It had to have been for a long time, because there was no way to get so much power so quickly, and they must have hidden things real well because her siblings would sure as hell have told her if they'd suspected something. "So Professor, do they think you have anything to do with this?"

The Professor snorted. "Of course not, why would they suspect me? I've been Ophelia's friend for years. Besides, they'll either give up eventually, or, when I've talked to you about it more, I'll tell them what happened and maybe they'll calm down."

Deema didn't think either was a likely option. If her parents had so much power, and she was supposed to marry a business contact, they were going to rip the world apart looking for her. It was disturbing to think of her parents as power hungry maniacs, and it made it difficult to breath, but what else what she supposed to think now? "Please don't. At least not for a while."

"I won't."

"Thanks."

Iris chimed in again. "So what is it that Cheren's bringing over for Deema?"

Bianca answered. "An Xtransever. She'll need one."

Iris nodded. "Yeah she will. I'll be able to call her and leave her alone for more than an hour. Though that may not actually be a good idea. She was attacked by the Shadow Triad during lunch."

Professor Juniper and Bianca both gasped. "Ghetsis' henchmen?"

"Mhmm. They managed to clear the street and tried to kidnap her."

"Damn. I didn't count on Ghetsis being interested in this."

"Me either."

Deema looked back and forth between the Professor and Iris. They seemed to go in between not knowing what was going on and actually knowing more than Deema. Even more confusing-ness added to her already hurting brain. She sighed, which drew the other three talkers' attention. "You alright Deema?"Asked Professor Juniper.

"Oh, stressed."

"Well that's perfectly understandable. Just wait a bit longer, and Cheren will be there. Then you can run on over to Nimbasa and find a place to crash and then sleep."

Deema wished she could do more than just run and sleep, but there weren't too many available options just yet. Lillil started huffing at the screen, angry at being ignored for so long. "Oh, we didn't forget about you Lillil!"

Professor Juniper and Bianca had gone on for a good ten minutes more praising Lillil up and down to appease her, the earlier battle and what she had done unmentioned. When Deema and Iris had finally hung up, their wait was almost over, and they had migrated to seats closer to the entrance of the Pokémon Center. Lillil and Axew were off running around a coffee table with a sudden burst of energy and made adorable happy noises. They jumped onto and over the couches, then back to the table, just having a blast. At one point, Axew had put too much umph in its jump and launched itself off of the back of Deema's couch. "Careful there Axew, you might get hurt."

Deema turned in her chair and looked at a boy she recognized. "Hey Cheren."

He smirked at her. "There's the trouble maker. Shouldn't you be running back home to Mommy and Daddy?"

She grabbed Axew from Cheren and placed him back on the floor to play with Lillil. "You're just mad because all of the girls from Nuvema seem to have the fun."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, just devastated. Because Black and I did absolutely nothing to help out with capturing Team Plasma and the Seven Sages."

"Yeah, I know right?"

He rolled his eyes again and dug something out of his pocket. He handed Deema an Xtransever. "There you go. Package delivered. Can I go now?"

Deema nodded and stuck the Xtransever in her bag. "Yeah, me and Iris need to get going fast."

Iris hopped off of the couch. "Yeah. Good seeing you again though. Good luck with whatever it is the Professor or Aldor sends you on next."

Cheren gave a two finger salute and was quickly out the door. Iris returned Axew back to its Pokéball and grabbed Haxorus' out of her hair. "Ready to roll Deema?"

Deema picked up Lillil and her bag then followed Iris out of the Center.

The wind had taken on a cool tone which helped deal with the intensity of the desert sun. Deema leaned into the still cool armor plates of Haxorus' back and watched through her goggles as the world streaked past her. Iris came to two different paths and stopped for a moment. "Oh shoot, I don't remember which way the city is."

Deema started to say something. "That's fine I have a map."

Iris went right on talking. "That's okay, we can figure it out. I'm going left." She kicked Haxorus into the left and was rushing away.

The road eventually turned right again and Iris led Haxorus that way. The sand here quickly became darker and deeper and Iris and Deema had to hop of Haxorus to keep him from sinking too quickly. Iris hummed a half thought out tune and led Haxorus down the sandy path. When the small group reached a mid-way point free from too much dust, Deema wanted to take a break and take out her map to make sure they were going the right way, but Iris insisted they were close and wanted to keep going. She led them out into the burning sun and looked around. "Well this doesn't look like the bridge. It must be farther up ahead."

Deema was starting to wonder if Iris was doing this on purpose. With all the intelligence she'd shown when talking to the Professor, it was hard to believe she had suddenly become this dumb. What kind of idea was leading them into the desert though? The sun was blinding and painful to try and see through, especially with the glass of her goggles, but Deema needed the goggles on to keep the sand from getting into her eyes. She desperately wanted to take a drink of water, but with the blowing sand, and the fact that she didn't have in her bag, kept her from sating her thirst. She called up ahead to Iris who has continuing to chug along. "Do you honestly think that the bridge is going to magically appear up there?" She spit to get sand out of her mouth.

Iris turned to look back. "Of course I do. Why else would I keep going this way?"

Why else indeed.

Deema mumbled angry things under her breath as she continued behind Iris. She didn't notice when Iris stopped and wound up crashing into her back. "We're here!"

Deema rubbed her head and looked around Iris. All she saw was a bunch of sand dunes at first. When she squinted really hard, she saw the outlines of what looked to be ruins. "Um, Iris… I don't think Nimbasa City is either in the desert, or a bunch of rubble."

"Change of plans. I have something I need to do here at the Desert Resort."

Well, the intelligence was back, but it would have been nice to know what was going on. This whole being out of the loop thing was getting annoying. More angry muttering, but Deema kept up with Iris as they approached the ruins. Two long shadows were draped across the ruins entrance Deema saw as they neared, and molded into the figures of two people. "Clay, Rood!" She shouted.

Deema saw the shadows thicken as the two people Iris had called out to turned to face her voice. A man with a Western themed suit and cowboy hat, a bit on the heavier side, stood next to a man with a brown fez and elaborate matching brown robes. She recognized Clay as a Gym leader of a city not too far from here but had no clue who this 'Rood' guy was. Clay moved towards them. "'Bout time you showed up Iris. Your Haxorus must not be as fast as it used to be."

"Not like you got here too much faster than us Clay, because the same can be said of you." She teased.

Haxorus let out a shallow roar and bobbed its head. "Oh, I didn't actually mean it Haxorus, I know you did nice and well. Say you save that red haired girl from the cops. Good job." Clay gave Haxorus an affectionate pat and rub on the head.

Deema stared at the giant of a man. He made her feel down right puny. Not the best feeling in the world. She wasn't sure exactly of what to say or do, so she remained silent and slightly behind Haxorus' large frame. Clay finally took notice of her. "Well don't just stand there in the shade, get out into the sun like the rest of us."

She hesitantly moved to stand in front of the hulking man. His gaze left invisible burns on her skin and she felt as if she had been judged and found wanting. "Tiny." That was all he said.

He turned around and dismissed her and headed back to the ruins. "Come on then, it's cooler in the ruins and I don't feel like getting a heat rash."

Deema glared at Clay's back and growled, "Timber." Just loud enough for Iris and Haxorus to hear.

Iris slapped a hand over her mouth and Haxorus did its own version of shocked laughter. Clay was the first to enter the ruins, soon followed by the man named Rood, and then Iris and Haxorus with Deema in the far back. Deema was happy when Clay's statement of the ruins being cooler proved to be true and gratefully removed the goggles from her face. They stuck a bit due to sweat, and made of funny popping noise. She put them on the top of her head and looked around. The walls were crumbling in places, and the entire floor was sand, but it seemed okay. Not like anything important was needed to happen here. She wanted to ask what Iris had to do here exactly, and what it had to do with Clay and Rood. A piece of rock fell from the ceiling. Deema stuck close to Haxorus as the group moved around the walls that reminded Deema vaguely of a maze until they got around one corner and she saw what at first reminded her of a whirlpool, but of sand. "Watch out for the quick sand around here. It sucks you down and I don't wanna have to go lookin' for ya." Grumbled Clay.

Deema carefully tiptoed around the whirlpool of sand behind Iris, casting a worried glance at it as she cleared it. Unfortunately, that made her not pay enough attention to the next swirl of sand and she found herself sliding. She let out a small shriek as she tried to move back up, but found that the sand just sucked her down faster. Iris tried to grab for her, but her arms were too short. Clay's face was angry but determined as her reached for her. His arms were just long enough, but not strong enough. Deema's leg were down through the middle of the heart of the whirl pool and Deema tried desperately to save herself but it wasn't working. "Damn it kid."

"It's okay Clay, let her go. I'll catch her."

Deema's eyes widened and she shook her head. He'd better not let her go. Clay on the other hand, trusted the voice on the other side of the quick sand and let go. Deema let out another shriek as she slipped through the sands' grasp. A pair of strong arms caught her face down and she spit sand out of her mouth. Her breathing was heavy from the shock and it took her a moment to get her bearings. When she turned her head to see who had caught her, she saw the green haired boy who had walked her to the café from the Pokémon Center in Striaton City. "N, did ya catch her?" Clay called down.

"Yeah. She is fine. I will meet you all at the stairs, does that sound acceptable?"

Clay called down an agreement and then there was silence from the side of the roof. There was a trickle of sand that came from the ceiling and N eventually stepped off the sand pile. Deema wasn't sure exactly what to say. "Er, thank you." Was the best she could manage.

N smiled at her. "It was no trouble. I am glad you are alright."

He put the arm holding her legs up down first, then the arm holding her chest up to balance here. "All better. Not too worse for wear."

She stared at the guy, who had the most innocent expression on his face. She hadn't exactly noticed it back in Straiton, having still been fuming over having been thought a guy. His hat was slightly skewed to the side and without thinking reached out and straightened it up. He looked up at his hat and lightly touched the brim before looking at her. "Thank you."

Deema blushed, not sure why. She coughed and pointed down the sandstone corridor. "You're welcome. Shouldn't we get going to meet up with Iris and the others?" It wasn't really a question and she headed down the hall way on her own.

The halls got darker and dark, and creepier and creepier. She wished she had a light to see with, but she hadn't thought to pack one. Stupid her. When she got to Nimbasa, if she ever did, that was going to be one of the first things she did. Deema wrapped her arms around herself, noticing that the air down here was not only stale as a tomb, but it was starting to get freezing, and after the desert sun it was a big change. Light was minimal, she heard rocks falling, and with each step she became more unnerved. She jumped about five feet in the air and squeal when N harmlessly touched her shoulder. He chuckled. "Scared at all?"

She shot him a glare though she doubted her could see any better than she could. "No. Now where's the stairs?"

N chuckled again. "I have no idea, I'm lost. I thought it'd be fun to try and see how long it took you to figure that out."

Deema's eye twitched. What was with people who liked randomly going in the wrong direction? She sighed deeply and tried to see as far ahead as she could. "You couldn't have mentioned this earlier?"

"No, that would have ruined the game."

"Fine, how long have we been lost then."

He thought about that. "Hm. Well, I think I might have taken a wrong turn back when I first caught you so… about ever since we started."

Deema slapped a hand to her forehead. Great. She was trapped in a bunch of ruins after having fallen through sand, and she was pretty sure that sand was in places it was never meant to be. She was starting to get hungry, she was still thirsty, and the only thing keeping her from becoming scared again was her temper, which was quickly starting to cool. Could it get any worse?

A blood-curdling howl and the angry buzzing of an army of wings told her that yes, yes it could.


End file.
